And They Call It Peace
by lord of the land of fire
Summary: Momonga and the forces of Nazarick have been brought to a very different world. Momonga decides to give this new world peace. But just what is his definition of peace?
1. A Brave New World

"Now, everyone. To our supreme leader, the ritual of fidelity." Albedo said.

A vampire lolita fell to one knee and placed a hand over her heart. "The guardian of the first, second, and third floor, Shalltear Bloodfallen I bow before the supreme one."

A massive, four armed figure encased in armor fell to one knee and placed a hand over his heart. "The guardian of the fifth floor, Cocytus. I bow before the supreme one."

"The guardian of the sixth floor, Aura Bella Fiora."

"A- Also the guardian of the sixth floor, Mare Bello Fiore."

Both young, dark elves fell to one knee and spoke together. "We bow before the supreme one."

"The guardian of the seventh floor, Demiurge." A demon with glasses, tie, and a pin stripe suit fell to one knee and placed a hand over his heart. "I bow for the supreme one."

"The leader of the guardians, Albedo. I bow before the supreme one." A beautiful succubus with horns and black feathery wings knelt down before him and placed hand over her heart. "Other than the guardian of the fourth floor, Gargantua, and the guardian of the eighth floor, Victim, all the guardians have gathered to bow before you. Please bestow your orders upon us, Supreme One. We offer our complete loyalty to you."

Momonga stood before them. It seemed the NPCs were all loyal to him. That was good, even knowing he could use magic, and even with the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in his possession he would have had to flee if they had decided to turn on him. As incredible and seemingly impossible as it might be, he was coming to accept the fact that this was real. The game world of Yggdrasil had somehow become real. Magic existed. The NPCs had come to life. He was no longer Suzuki Satoru playing an online DMMO-RPG. By some miracle he really was Momonga, Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown.

He had no idea how this was possible. The most likely explanation would be had suffered a stroke or other ailment and fallen into a coma. All this was playing out in his own mind while he lay in a hospital bed somewhere. The next most likely scenario was he had died while on line and this was either heaven or hell. Given what a boring existence he'd had as a corporate drone he wasn't sure which he deserved. For him his 'real' life had always been absolutely pointless and without meaning. It was always the hours spent in Yggdrasil that had mattered to him. His fellow guild members had become his true friends, he had no family and the people at work were just associates who he never interacted with outside the company. Creating and building up the guild was his life's work. Conquering the original dungeon, creating the guild weapon, beating off an attack of more than 1,600 players… these were the things he was proud of. Not of meaningless reports and reaching arbitrary quotas of quarterly sales. His online life had always been the one that was more important and more 'real' to him.

 _Wow, that sounds pretty pathetic doesn't it?_ He thought to himself. But he was honest enough to admit that given a real choice, he would choose this to going back to what everyone called reality. The fact he would choose this world, whatever it was, didn't mean it wasn't scary. He didn't know if there were other players in this world, or what existed outside the walls of Nazarick. He didn't even know if the NPCs would continue to follow him once they realized he had no idea what he was doing. He would just have to try and be the leader they needed.

"Raise your heads. You all did well to gather here. Thank you."

"Your thanks are wasted upon us," Albedo said. "We have all pledged ourselves to you. Momonga-sama, you may find us lacking. However, we vow to work hard and to live up to the expectations of the supreme beings who created us."

"We vow this to you," the all said together.

Seeing their devotion he couldn't help but feel pleased. "Wonderful, floor guardians! I am confident that all of you will be able to fulfill your duties without fail!"

These few words were enough to cause all of them to look up with smiles and faces full of pleasure. Momonga was truly glad to see he could make them happy with honest praise.

"Well then, right now, the Great Tomb of Nazarick is caught up in an unknown situation. I have already sent Sebas out to investigate our surroundings." He turned to his right. The combat butler and commander of the Pleiades combat maids bowed to him. "Please give all of us your full report."

"Hai, Momonga-sama, the Great Tomb of Nazarick is no longer surrounded by swamp. It seems we are now located on a small island roughly three miles long and half a mile wide."

There were gasps from all the floor guardians.

"An… island? Are you certain of this Sebas?" It was a ridiculous question. He would not have reported it if he weren't. But the idea was so shocking he had to ask.

Sebas gave a single nodded. "I am, I confirmed the water which surrounds us is salt water. We are located in the midst of an ocean. In the hour's time I was able to traverse the perimeter of the island and confirm its size. What is more I discovered something."

"Oh?"

"I found the wreckage of a ship, it is unlike any I have ever seen before, Momonga-sama."

In Yggdrasil the ocean going vessels were mostly longboats or cogs. Players who took the occupation of pirate were allowed to upgrade to carracks and galleons.

"Take me to this wreck."

"Hai."

"Wait! Momonga-sama!" Albedo jumped to her feet. "There is no way for us to know what possible enemies there may be! Please take us with you so that we may protect you from any possible harm!"

"I agree," Demiurge said. "This is a unique situation. Caution is called for."

"I have the staff and Sebas will accompany me."

"Even so, Momonga-sama," Albedo argued. "There is no way for us to truly know what the danger is. Please allow us to accompany you so that we may lay down our lives in your defense."

She did have a point. It was probably a good idea to be cautious. On the other hand, would they respect him if he were afraid to step outside without all of them acting as bodyguards?

"Very well, one of you may accompany us. The rest of you are to alert your subordinates and ready Nazarick for a possible surprise attack."

"I will go," Albedo said before anyone else could even open their mouths. Shalltear glared. "Carry out our lord's command, return to your posts and kill any intruder who dares to violate the sacred grounds of Nazarick!"

The other guardians bowed and hurried away.

XXX

Outside it was nighttime. Besides he constant roll of the surf and the occasional caw of a sea gull it was quiet. There was a half-moon out and the night sky was clear and full of stars. Sebas had stated these were not the constellations of Yggdrasil. Momonga _thought_ they were also not the ones from the real world. He couldn't be completely sure, but he at least knew where the big and small dippers were, and could not find them.

The beaches of this island were all rocky, with very little sand. The only vegetation was grass and shrub. There were a couple very small hills, neither more than thirty feet high. There were no buildings or walls or even trails. The only inhabitants seemed to be the sea gulls and crabs. The length of the island stretched from south to north. The tomb entrance was near the southern tip of the island, and only about thirty feet from the water's edge. The ground it was on was not much above sea level. Flooding might be a problem during storms, or if there was a significant high tide. The more serious, and immediate, concern was that the tomb was exposed. The local vegetation did absolutely nothing to hide it.

Momonga used message. " _Mare?"_

" _Y- yes Momonga-sama?"_

" _The entrance of Nazarick is visible and must be concealed immediately."_

" _I- I understand, uhm, it might not be enough to hide it with just an illusion."_

" _What do you suggest, Mare?"_

" _Uh, well, if we're on an island, a fog back might make the most sense."_

" _Very well, please see it now, Mare."_

" _Yes, Momonga-sama!"_

Momonga told his companions about the order he'd just given. They both simply nodded.

XXX

The shipwreck was about a half mile from the northern tip of the island. The vessel had obviously been here for a long time. It was broken open and lying on its side. Moss was growing in patches and the hull had decayed exposing the interior through two gaping tears. There were countless smaller holes as well. The ship had been roughly forty feet from stem to stern, making it bigger than most longboats and about as large as some of the bigger cargo ships.

"I don't believe I've ever seen a ship like this," Albedo frowned. There's no mast for a sail and no benches or openings for oars. And what sort of wood was it made from?"

"I agree it's very strange," Sebas said. "Not only the design, but the fact it is not made of wood." Sebas stepped up to the ruined hull and snapped off a piece of it. "It's rusted, but it was metal, this entire ship looks like it was made from metal, and its bridge had a glass screen."

Albedo took the piece of corroded and metal and studied it. "A ship made of metal? Was it a creation of magic?"

"Very possible. I've heard of magical galleys that could travel the skies to Asgard. Perhaps this was one."

"Momonga-sama, what do you believe?" When he did not reply. Albedo turned to him. Her master was standing there staring at the ship. "Momonga-sama? Is something wrong?"

"This is not a galley used by the gods," Momonga said in a very quiet voice. "It's a simple fishing boat."

"A fishing boat?" Sebas said in surprise. "I've never heard of a fishing boat this size, or one constructed from metal."

"That is because this vessel did not come from Yggdrasil, it is from a very different world. It was not powered by sail or by oars or even by magic, it likely had an engine using gas or diesel."

"I am not familiar with diesel," Albedo nodded her head in embarrassment. "If this ship had gas, was it a living thing?" She eyed the wreck with a hint of nervousness.

"No, it was never alive, though in its own way it would have been a wonder in Yggdrasil."

He had not grown up near the ocean, and except for a few vacations and business trips had never seen it. But could recognize a common fishing boat from his world. Did that mean this was Earth? He couldn't assume that, but it did seem very likely this world had some level of modern technology. On the prow was a plain wooden board with what he assumed was the ship's name carved into it. The symbols were not Japanese kanji, and they were not English either. He'd learned English in High School and used it occasionally at work. Three of the letters looked like the upper case T, Y, and O, but the other five were not from the English alphabet.

More important than the unknown language were all the holes scattered all over the vessel. From their size and perfect roundness they could only be bullet holes. This fishing boat hadn't wrecked here in some storm, it had been attacked. And attacked using firearms. Why had the ship been attacked? How long ago? What had happened to its crew? There was no way to know the answer to any of these questions, but what was obvious was this was a very dangerous situation and he would need to tread carefully until he knew more.

"We need to return to Nazarick and learn more about this world we are in."

As they headed back the fog began to rise and engulf the island.

XXX

Captain John Warwick was sprawled out in the captain's chair of the Evil Witch. The only other person in the cramped bridge was his second in command, Mark Welch. They both had their rifles with them, just in case, and Sote was manning one of the gun turrets. He didn't expect any trouble, John couldn't even remember the last time they'd had any kind of action. The Delta was an empty, boring stretch of water. So far as he was concerned these patrols were a waste of battery power. But Bloody Billy wanted him out here, so here he was.

"Hey, John, we got fog off the port bow."

"That so? Pretty rare for this time of year. What's the radar say?"

Mark bent over to look at a round screen with a swirl of green images in it. "Looks clear, the fog's out by Cutler's Point."

"Fuck it then, nothing to worry about."

Mark silently nodded. The Evil Witch kept steaming through the Delta without a care in the world.


	2. An Experiment

The very first thing Momonga did when he returned was to message the guardians and confirm that all was well. There were no intruders, there had been no attacks, so far as they could tell everything was completely 'normal.' Momonga found that interesting, as only a couple hours earlier they had not been alive. The NPCs obviously knew him and the other residents of Nazarick. But what sorts of memories would they have?

Both Albedo and Sebas had returned to the throne room with him, so it occurred to him to ask them some questions concerning this.

"Albedo, what did you do yesterday?"

She blinked. "I performed my normal duties. I was in attendance in the throne room, had lunch, spoke with the guardians, had-"

"Wait! You actually spoke with the guardians?"

Albedo blinked at him and fidgeted. "It was merely to confirm the status of their floors and that there were no problems. I am their leader so it is a part of my duty. Did… did I do something wrong Momonga-sama? I used message so I did not leave the throne room until I had dinner and then went to bed."

"So you physically left the throne room?"

Albedo gasped and fell to her knees. "I beg forgiveness Momonga-sama! I swear I did not know I was meant to remain here at all times! I will have a sleeping mat brought in and I will take all my meals here and have the maids bring me a bowl so I may perform my bodily functions without ever stepping outside the throne room!"

"Er, no, that's not what I meant. I am sorry, Albedo, but I thought you were always present in the throne room."

"Ah! I understand. Whenever a Supreme Being is in the Great Tomb, regardless of the time of day or what tasks we are doing, we all go to our posts so as to be ready to serve."

Momonga turned to Sebas. "Is it the same for you as well?"

Sebas gave a nod. "Yes, Momonga-sama. It is the same for every NPC of Nazarick. We live only to serve the Supreme Beings. When none of you are present we will go about our usual routines. But when any of you arrive we instantly return to our proper stations, to carry out your will."

"Instantly? Even if you are asleep?"

Sebas's eyes widened slightly at the question. "Of course. No servant of Nazarick would dare sleep when they should be available to serve a Supreme Being. Such a thing would be absolutely unthinkable."

Albedo swiftly nodded agreement.

"So you can be asleep in bed one moment and standing in a hallway the next?"

"Hai."

"But how did that work?"

Momonga noticed as Sebas and Albedo shared a confused glance. "I do not know the specifics of the magic. But how could it be any other way?"

"Every NPC knows the instant a Supreme Being arrives as well as his, her, or its identity." Albedo added.

Momonga found all of this very interesting, but decided not to ask further about it. The absolute last thing he wanted was for them to start to develop doubts about him. Everyone in Nazarick assumed that as a Supreme Being he was infallible and had all the answers. It would be very, very dangerous to start putting doubts in their minds. The key thing was that so far as Albedo and Sebas were concerned nothing had changed. Whatever force / god / magic that had given them life had also given them false memories. For every inhabitant of Nazarick other than him, today was a normal day. (Excluding the minor fact they were in a different world now.)

"Momonga-sama," Albedo spoke after a short pause. "I know Herohero-sama was here for a short time earlier. Will he or any of the other Supreme Beings return?"

"Ah, it is unlikely, but not impossible." So far as Herohero was concerned Momonga knew for a fact he had logged out prior to the Change. So the odds of his returning were effectively zero. But there was at least the possibility that some of his other friends had been on line at the time and been brought to this new world.

"I see, that is truly unfortunate." She sounded disappointed and bowed her head. But he thought he saw just a flicker of a smile.

"It is still possible there could be other PCs in this new world. If there are I want to find them."

"And destroy them!" Albedo said.

"What? No!"

"Oh, you will merely make them your slaves?" Albedo lowered her face. "You are truly merciful to your enemies Momonga-sama."

"Indeed." Sebas agreed.

 _Just what sort of reputation do I have with them?_ Momonga wondered. Well, the guild had practiced a lot of player killing and been invaded by an alliance of no fewer than eight opposing guilds. Ainz Ooal Gown _had_ viewed most other PCs as enemies. That had been the nature of the game though. Naturally, things would be very different now. But he could hardly expect them to understand that.

"There is something I want to ask both of you. What sort of person am I to you?"

Sebas bowed to him. "The head of all the Supreme Beings, and a merciful leader who stayed behind with us until the end."

Albedo's cheeks blushed as she answered. "The highest ranking of all the Supreme Beings and our ultimate master." She paused and clasped her hands together. "As well as the man I love!"

He stared at her. "Eh?"

XXX

Momonga was not able to deal with the revelation of Albedo being in love with him. In his actual life no woman had ever said it to him. And while normally he would have been delighted to have the affection of such an absolute beauty, he also felt ashamed for manipulating Tabula-san's creation. He managed to avoid the issue and would deal with it later.

The next couple of days were spent on experiments. Knowing he was in a different world it was vital to ascertain if and how the different aspects of the game still functioned. One of the first things he did was go outside and use a wide range of spells, running the gambit from tier one to ten and above. He used his staff, his own ability, and a few lesser magical items. He knew from his earlier experiment on the sixth floor that he could still use magic. He had wanted however, to make sure it worked outside of the tomb. Momonga also wanted to see if he had access to his full inventory of spells and abilities, and to see if he could recover MP once used.

He was very pleased to confirm that magic worked here exactly as it had in Yggdrasil. Momonga also ordered Shalltear, Narberal, and Lupisregina to also use a wide variety of spells. This proved that not only wizard magic but druidic and faith based spells worked as well.

He learned that the tomb would continue to automatically spawn low level undead, and that all the traps and magical features of the different levels remained active. As did the maintenance cost. At midnight exactly 1,288 gold pieces from the treasury were 'consumed.' This was the daily price needed to maintain the Great Tomb of Nazarick. As Guildmaster, Momonga had been very aware that in Yggdrasil guilds required gold to function. He had spent literally thousands of hours killing monsters and raiding various dungeons to guarantee the guild would have what it needed. Thus, in the treasury there was a literal hill of gold coins and hundreds of magical items great and minor. At the current rate of consumption his guild had enough gold to maintain itself for 176 more years. And there was always the Exchange Box if an emergency arose. So acquiring more gold was not a pressing issue. But the fact the gold was still needed was interesting in and of itself. Logically it didn't make sense, but then neither did game characters coming to life or the fact magic itself was real. Momonga found he was able to mentally adjust and accept it. All he cared about was finding out the rules of how things worked now.

As with the gold, food and other consumables that were used up were not replaced. The scrolls Momonga used were gone. He had Narberal, and Lupisregina drink some minor potions, the potions worked and were then gone. The tomb had large inventories of both scrolls and potions, but would need to find sources of raw material to make more… assuming that was possible in this world. Most of Nazarick's inhabitants were undead, but there were still hundreds who were living beings and would need to be fed. The larders were full and Momonga's rough estimate was they would last about three months. Water at least was not an issue, they had an entire lake on the fourth floor. Other than fish and crab there wasn't much food on the island, they would need to discover and secure a food supply. He and others could use magic to create food and water, but nowhere near enough.

Wandering through the tomb he noted that the spa, lounge, disco, arcade, nail salon, and other locations that had just been decorative back in Yggdrasil were now as real as the NPCs. He learned he could not swing a sword without encasing himself in magical armor. Yuri could cook a piece of meat to order. When any of the other Pleiades tried they burned the meat to charcoal. All of his levels were devoted to mage classes, he was not even a first level warrior. Yuri had the non-essential cooking skill, none of the other combat maids did. So the proficiencies and skills assigned in the game had transferred over just like spell levels and combat abilities had. When he had more time Momonga would need to experiment to find out if it were possible for NPCs to learn new things in this world.

Momonga learned as much as he could about magic, the tomb, and his NPCs. On the third day it was time for one particular experiment. It was one he did not want to perform, but in a world with firearms and possibly other modern weapons, it was one that was absolutely necessary before he ventured out into the world.

XXX

All the guardians had been assembled in the throne room to act as witnesses. If he was going to ask them to risk their lives for him it was only fair they know what would happen here. Standing before the throne was one of the homunculus maids. She had a woman's body and wore a black maid uniform. Her head was that of a fox and she had a single bushy red tail. As she stood before the throne her tail drooped and her head hung low.

"Though I do not know my offense I beg forgiveness, Momonga-sama."

"No, no, you've done nothing wrong Kitiara! Please understand your service has been exemplary and I have no complaint whatsoever!"

Kitiara raised her head slightly and her fox ears perked up. "Then why am I to be executed?"

Momonga shifted in his seat. Her tone was curious rather than accusatory, but he could not help but feel guilty. He and his friends had created the NPCs, they represented everything he and his friends had loved. Momonga felt it was his duty to do everything possible to protect them, and this included a level one homunculus maid every bit as much as it did Albedo or any other level one hundred guardian. But there were times when some sacrifices were absolutely necessary.

"I am truly sorry, I know how unjust this is. However, I must be absolutely certain I have the ability to resurrect in this world. After you are killed I will attempt to resurrect you. Whether or not I can this knowledge is vital to the survival of Nazarick."

"So my death will be useful to you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Kitiara grinned and her tail began to energetically wag. "I feared I had failed you. If my dying serves you, then it is my greatest joy and honor to give my life for you, Momonga-sama!"

Albedo suddenly stepped forward. "Momonga-sama! Please allow me to die for you!"

Cocytus raised four hands. "I beg to be allowed this honor!"

Shalltear knelt down with a hand over her heart. "For my beautiful, Momonga-sama, I gladly offer my life!"

Every guardian offered to sacrifice themselves for him. All the apparent eagerness to die in his name didn't make Momonga happy. It instead reminded him that he would need to be very careful leading them. Obviously, the NPCs would not hold themselves back from needless risks if they thought an action would please him.

Momonga raised a hand. "I thank you for your courage, but I have chosen Kitiara for a reason, she is best suited for this."

His words actually made her puff out her chest and sent her tail into over drive.

 _This isn't right, no one should be so eager to lose their life._ But he needed to find out. "Kitiara, if you would like to take a few minutes to prepare yourself-"

"I am ready Momonga-sama, and thank you with all my heart. All glory to you and Ainz Ooal Gown!" She knelt down and held her head up to smile at him.

A battle axe materialized in Albedo's hand. Momonga hesitated but finally nodded. The axe flew, separating head from neck in a single, clean blow. The head came off with a rush of blood as the body toppled over. Momonga noted that when Kitiara's head came to a stop, it was still smiling. He was surprised at how little he felt at the sight of an actual corpse. All the blood and gruesomeness simply did not bother him.

Momonga stood and opened a small pouch. He let one hundred gold coins spill out, that was the cost for resurrecting a level one NPC. Momonga then lifted his staff.

"Kitiara, resurrect!"

Before his eyes the gold as well as the body began to melt and flow together. Even the blood moved into a single mass. It came together and coalesced into a living body. Kitiara opened her eyes and came to her feet. All the guardians applauded the success. Resurrection worked in this world. If the worst happened he could bring people back, just so long as he had enough gold.

It was finally time to go exploring.

XXX

The Evil Witch had finished her patrol and was on the way back home. Big surprise, there been nothing but empty water. Captain Warwick was in his chair and both Mark and Sate were in the bridge with him. Mark had the wheel, Sate was just there talking his usual crap. It was late afternoon, they would probably make it back to port sometime tomorrow before noon.

"As soon as we dock I'm heading straight to Maggie's," Sate said. "She's got a new girl, fifteen I think. Got the nicest little ass! And she's fresh too! Hardly been touched yet."

"They never stay that way long," Mark noted. "A couple months and she'll be just like the rest of them, an old pro."

"That's what I'm saying! I want to hit that as hard as I can while she's still a sweet little thing."

"Good luck with that," Warwick told him. "By the time you see her she'll probably know how to give you a slippery slide."

"Aw, come on John, don't be that way! It hasn't even been a week! I like 'em innocent"

"Then don't go to Maggie's, there's nothing innocent there."

"Well where else am I supposed to go to get laid?"

Mark grinned. "See? That's the whole problem. You say you want a sweet girl, but a sweet girl's not going to let you yank down her panties whenever you want."

"Well what's wrong with that?" Sate demanded.

"The ones who'll let you fuck them whenever you want aren't sweet or innocent."

"Hey, I want both. No reason I can't fine me a nice girl with a great ass who won't mess around and still take care of me whenever I want."

"Yeah," John said. "And I'd like a thousand pieces of solnium. Keep dreaming."

"You know what the real problem is?" Sate asked and then answered himself. "It's that we live in a shitty little town at the ass end of nowhere. We should all just go to Hannover."

"Shut your fucking mouth," John snapped. "You need to stop talking about this or I swear by sky and sea I'm going to tell Bloody Billy. As much as you run your mouth I can't believe he hasn't already cut your throat."

"C'mon, were all friends here. And you know I'm right. How many times you bitched about how boring our shithole is."

"That's because it's boring, I never said it wasn't. But there are a lot worse things than boring. You think they're going to welcome us if we just show up? We'll probably get strafed by a Hummingbird and that'll be the end."

"Nah, I bet they'd sign us up."

"Well we'll never know since it's never happening, now shut your mouth about it or I really will see Bloody Billy soon as we get back."

"Fuck you," Sate said, but did stop talking after that.

A few minutes later Mark pointed at something. "Fogbank off the starboard bow."

"Seriously? I've never seen fog in such clear weather. There hasn't been a cloud all day."

John got out of his chair and took a few steps to stand next to Mark and have a look. Sure enough there was a small band of fog out there.

"Huh, that's weird, it's not moving or spreading out. It's sticking to that one spot in the ocean. Hey, is that Cutler's Point?"

"Yeah," Mark said. "Never seen fog hang around this long."

John peered down at the radar screen. It showed the Point out there but nothing else. It was possible a ship could have landed on the island. Their radar wouldn't have picked it out.

"Want us to go take a look?" Mark asked.

John glanced at one of the gages. The battery charge was at twenty-eight percent, they had plenty of juice to spare.

"Fuck it, why not? Not like we've got anything better to do."

"You're the boss." Mark turned the wheel and altered course.


	3. A Short Fight

Momonga was using the Mirror of Remote Viewing to safely search out the area surrounding them. So far he had discovered nothing but empty ocean. Since he had no idea what direction land might be in he was conducting the search in the pattern of an ever widening spiral. The boat wreckage they'd found suggested they couldn't be too far away from land, but it still might take quite awhile.

"I am sorry you are forced to waste so much time watching me do this," Momonga said.

"Do not concern yourself, Momonga-sama. Staying beside my master and following his orders, that is the butler Touch-Me-sama created and my reason for existence."

"It is good to hear that as I have no idea how long this will take."

It was shortly after he received a message from Demiurge. " _Momonga-sama! I have just received an alert from one of my imp scouts! There is a ship approaching!"_

Demiurge and Albedo had decided to keep four imps with invisibility cast on them flying above the island as an early warning system.

" _Where is this ship?"_

" _About eight miles east of us."_

Momonga refocused and the image of the mirror shifted. He saw a small vessel churning through the water leaving a wake behind it. He adjusted it again to give him a closer view.

" _I have found it. Your scout did excellent work."_

" _Thank you, Momonga-sama. I will tell him of your praise, no greater reward could he have. Do you wish us to attack the vessel?"_

" _No, gather the guardians in the throne room, but we will do nothing for the moment."_

" _Understood."_

Momonga studied the ship. The mirror allowed him draw close and view it from any angle he chose. It was clearly a modern vessel and traveling under its own power. The hull was gray metal while the deck was painted red and white, much of the paint had flaked off and there were signs of rust all over. On the deck of the ship was a small shed with a single door and glass screen, he assumed this was the bridge. Above the bridge was a short mast with an antenna spinning round and round. He noted there was no flag atop the mast.

Also on the deck were two platforms with seats. Built around each chair were a pair of machine guns. One was at the front of the ship and one in the back. The one at the front had a human sitting in it and talking to another. The second human had a rifle slung over his shoulder, it was made of black metal and had a curved magazine already inserted. Momonga had no idea what sort of rifle it was, but then he was no expert. The two men were not wearing uniforms. The one seated had a plain gray shirt and khaki pants. The other one was shirtless and also wearing khakis. Neither man had any shoes on. This ship clearly did not look to be part of any navy, but it was just as obvious they were not ordinary sailors. Pirates then? That seemed most likely.

He against shifted the angle of the viewing to look ion through the glass screen. There were three men inside, one sitting the other two standing. They appeared to simply be talking. Again, there were no uniforms. One of them had another black rifle over one shoulder. The viewpoint pulled back to look over the entire ship. No other people were on deck. The mirror's magic was limited and he could not use it see what was inside.

There was clapping and Sebas bowed to him. "Congratulations on finding the inhabitants of this world."

"I didn't find them. That was the scouts sent out by Demiurge and Albedo."

"They still acted under your order. Shall we attack the ship?"

Momonga shook his head. "I intend to follow it with the mirror. I want to discover where that ship is from without alerting any of the local inhabitants. I want to study them from a distance before actually making contact with them."

"A very wise and cautious decision Momonga-sama."

"We know nothing of this world or its dangers, we need to approach this warily."

"Hai."

About five minutes later the ship changed its course and headed towards them.

"Well… so much for that." Momonga stood. "If they've noticed us we can't ignore them. Let's go to the throne room, Sebas."

"Yes, Momonga-sama."

As they went the mirror floated in the air and trailed after them.

XXX

John had the whole crew on deck except for Mark who had the wheel and Tobi who was in the engine room. Both gun turrets were manned and everyone had their weapons in hand. Counting Mark and Tobi and himself he had a grand total of twelve people. He figured if there were any smugglers here he had enough fire power to deal with them. (Tobi didn't count of course.)

"Bring us close, but not too close," John called in a low voice. "Don't run us aground. The last thing I need is to radio for help."

"Got it," Mark said.

"Is there some kind of tech that can make fog?" Sote asked.

"I think if you put water on dry ice you can make it." Ralph Harmon said.

"What's dry ice?"

"Don't know, I just heard about it one time."

"We should get Tobi up here and ask him," Sote said. "Useless leech oughta be good for somethin'."

"It doesn't matter," John said. "We're just going to go around the Point one time and see if there's anything here. Everybody keep a sharp eye out."

The Evil Witch approached the southern shore, moving slowly through the water.

"Hey, do you see that?" Ralph asked.

"What?" John asked.

"There's something on the island. A house maybe?"

"Hey, he's right! I can just see it." Someone else said.

"Keep your voices down," John hissed. He went to stand next to Ralph. "I can't see shit, what are you looking at?"

"There," Ralph pointed. "You can spot a couple straight lines, like the side of a wall maybe."

At first John couldn't make it out, but then did barely notice the shape of something in the fog. "Fuck." He was about to tell Mark to kill the engines and drop anchor.

"HEY!" Lance Varden, the man on the forward turret shouted.

"Quiet! What the fu-" John cut off when he turned around to see what was happening. There, at the very front of his ship was a circle of black light."

"What the hell is that?" Sate asked, as he and everyone else brought their rifles up to their shoulders.

"Fuck me if I know," John answered. He had no clue what this was. John had thought the worst, the absolute worst, thing they might find was a camp of smugglers. Circles of black light that popped out of nowhere were way beyond anything he was ready for. And as he stood there a massive eight foot tall metal figure with four arms stepped out through the circle.

"Greetings, I am-"

"It's a mecha!" Someone screamed.

That was it. All hell broke loose as everyone blasted away. The personal mecha was standing not five feet in front of Lance's turret. The twin machine guns blazed at point blank. The spent cartridges flew into the air as the muzzle flashed lit everything up. John could clearly hear a rapid, tak, tak, tak, tak, underneath the sound of gunfire. He was shooting along with everyone else. John didn't think he could miss such a big target at this range. It was obvious the machine guns literally couldn't miss. There were sparks all over the enemy and he could see spent bullets raining down on the deck. Despite all this, the mecha wasn't taking any damage that he could see.

The mecha took one step forward, grabbed the twin muzzles in two hands, and crushed them. There was an instant backfire as both machine guns exploded. John saw the top of Lance's head ripped off. His corpse slumped over in the chair, right hand still clutching the trigger.

Then things suddenly quieted down as everyone ran empty at almost the exact same moment. Spent magazines were ejected and fresh ones popped in. And while this was happening _another_ figure stepped through the black circle. Mercifully it wasn't another mecha, instead it was an older man with grey hair and beard, dressed in a black suit with a black tie.

"Momonga-sama ordered us to not kill any of them. He wants prisoners." The new arrival said.

"I know this. I did not kill him intentionally. I will personally apologize to Momonga-sama."

"Who the fuck are you people?!" John screamed. He and all his men had reloaded. No one had started firing again. How did an infantry mecha end up here? And why was there a guy in a suit without even a rifle?

The mecha pilot answered him. "We are the servants of Ainz Ooal Gown and of the supreme being Momonga-sama. We have been ordered to capture you and your ship. I ask you to lay down your weapons and surrender. There is no disgrace in yielding to a superior force. You have already proven your warrior spirits and need not continue a pointless resistance."

"Yeah, I've never heard of either of those. We work for Bloody Billy Turner. If you attack us he'll come after you with everything he's got. I'll make a deal with you. Get off my ship and we'll leave here and not ever come back. I won't even tell Bloody Billy about you." He nodded to Lance. "I'll say there was an accident."

"That is not possible," the pilot inside the mecha rumbled.

"Indeed," the guy in the suit agreed. "Momonga-sama has ordered your capture, which is all that matters."

"Well that's a shame. GUN 'EM!" John and the crew all opened up.

The mecha rushed forward. Amazingly, the guy in the suit leapt up onto his shoulder and then jumped towards them. John got his rifle up to shoot him and thought he got him. But the man somehow landed on the deck behind them. Before anyone could even turn around, three men were knocked out. Mark ran out of the bridge with his gun ready. John could only watch as the man tore the rifle out of his hands and smashed the butt end into his friend's face.

John had no chance to do anything. The mecha was in front of him swatting down him men like they were flies. He saw a massive hand come down to his face and that was all.

XXX

The entire fight had lasted under sixty seconds.

Momonga stepped through the gate. He had on a mask and gauntlets to help hide his nature. Behind him the six Pleiades maids followed. He turned to Yuri Alpha.

"I want this ship secured and searched. Bring me any remaining crew members alive and unharmed if possible. I especially want weapons, maps, and any books or written materials."

"Yes, Momonga-sama." Yuri and the other maids set off to go below decks and obey.

Cocytus came over and bowed. "I apologize for causing the death of one of the sailors."

Momonga waved it away. "There is nothing to apologize for, I watched the battle. I know it was not your intention. More importantly, were you hurt at all?"

"No, I am uninjured."

Momonga nodded and took a close look at Cocytus's armor. He did not see even a scratch. "It seems magical armor is an effective defense against bullets." Momonga knew from his history books that both in Europe and Japan gunpowder had brought an end to knights and armored samurai. But it looked like magical armor was a very different story.

When Sebas approached he was alarmed to see two bullet holes in his chest and blood. Despite the obvious wounds the butler did not move as though he were injured.

"Sebas! Are you all right?"

"I am fine Momonga-sama, please do not be concerned."

In the real world two bullets to the chest would lay out _any_ man, even if they missed all vital organs. Sebas was not human though.

Momonga cast a low level spell. "Status." In his eyes a green bar materialized above Sebas's head. On it were the numbers 1,951 / 2,000.

In Yggdrasil death came when your hit points reached zero. In most cases, unless you were poisoned or suffering a curse, you would be completely fine and able to make a full recovery so long as you kept at least one hit point. Combat normally involved reducing the total number of hit points a target had down to zero. Yggdrasil did not really have critical hits. Certain characters classes such as assassin, sniper, master thief, and ninja were allowed special attacks like back stab, cut throat, or head shot that could instant kill an NPC, on a PC they would inflict five times the normal damage. As a lich mage he himself had spells like grasp heart which were designed as one shot kills. In practice those sorts of spells rarely worked if the target was above level 30. The point was that in Yggdrasil killing usually involved attacking someone to reduce their HP to zero. Critical strikes were unusual and an exception to game play, so there was usually no benefit to aiming at the head or heart, since the exact same damage would be done wherever the blow or spell landed.

The real world did not operate this way. There it made a very big difference whether you stabbed a person through the eye or the shoulder. If bullets in this world caused an average of twenty-five points of damage did that mean Sebas could be shot more than fifty times and still be fine? Could he be shot in the head or heart and survive as if it had been a wound in his arm? Was the important factor that his race was dragonoid? Or was it the fact he was an NPC?

 _I'm going to need to conduct more experiments_. In the meantime, Momonga reached into a pocket dimension and provided Sebas a healing potion. Though it was not serious he wanted Sebas fully healed.

XXX

They had searched the prisoners and the bridge. Momonga had figured out how to shut down the engines. He'd then cast levitate and brought the ship completely out of the water and on to dry land. Along with the rifles they'd uncovered four handguns. Going through pockets most of the men had possessed wallets. The men had picture identification cards with presumably their names and other information written in the same indecipherable script that had been on the wrecked boat. In the wallets were wrinkled paper bills of red and black with the same image of a balding man on all of them. There were coins of copper and iron, also with the same face stamped on them. Momonga assumed this was money, but the numbers, if there were numbers, were as indecipherable to him as the words.

When the maids returned, Yuri was leading a young man gripping his shoulder. Delta and Solution were carrying wooden crates. The young man had straw colored hair and was very thin, his clothes were noticeably more tattered and frayed than those of the other sailors. Momonga noted he had what looked like an old scar on his right cheek, it was in the shape of a triangle.

"Momonga-sama," Yuri said. "This is the only other person on board. He was not armed and did not resist."

Momonga nodded. "Good work, Yuri. I will speak to him."

Yuri turned to her prisoner. "Kneel."

He obeyed without a murmur. The man glanced at his unconscious crewmates and at the body still in its seat. He turned his eyes back to Momonga.

Momonga saw fear in them, but more weariness and despair. "What is your name?"

"Tobi."

"Just Tobi?"

The man's eyes widened slightly. "I am a Tech." By the way he said it, he seemed to think that was enough to explain it. As if from habit he reached up and touched his cheek.

"Well, Tobi, I am Momonga, leader of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, and I have questions for you."


	4. Gathering Information

"My first question is who are you and where are you from."

"This ship is called the Evil Witch and we work for Bloody Billy Turner, he owns the Delta. We are based out of Turnersport."

Momonga took out two maps and placed them in front of Tobi. "I found these in your bridge. Point out Turnersport and where we are now." The maps were both local and marked four settlements, three of which were on the coast.

Tobi put his finger on one of the locations. "This is Turnersport, it's the biggest place in the Delta." His finger drifted to one of a number of small islands. "This is Cutler's Point, where we are."

"And what are you doing here? Are you pirates?"

"Pirates?" Tobi sounded surprised. "No, we were out looking for smugglers. There are always people trying to sell food and other things without giving Bloody Billy his share."

"You're claiming to be the local authorities? You don't look like any sort of navy ship to me."

"Well, Bloody Billy only has two ships. Us and the Sea Witch, I'm not sure that counts as a navy."

"If you really are the military why aren't any of you wearing uniforms?" Momonga pointed at the mast. "You don't even carry a flag."

Tobi shrugged. "Nobody bothers with uniforms, the soldiers don't have them either. It's enough to carry a gun. There's not much point in a flag, if we had one it would just be Bloody Billy's face on a piece of cloth."

Momonga took out one of the paper bills. "I take it this man is your leader?" Tobi nodded. "Why is he the one in charge? Is he the local lord?"

"He's in charge because five years ago he killed Greg Horrace who was in charge of Horraceport. And Horrace was in power because he killed Jason Thompkins who ruled Thompkinsport. Bloody Billy Turner's the strongest and so everyone does what he says until it's someone else's turn."

"I see. So this man is essentially a local warlord who rules through fear and the threat of violence."

"Is there any other way to be on top?" Tobi asked.

Momonga thought of elections and votes of no confidence in Japanese Diet. Even in the guild the members had voted for him to be guildmaster because they trusted him, not because he had the most powerful character.

"If he is the local ruler who does he owe allegiance to?"

"No one, everyone in the Delta answers to him, he doesn't answer to anyone else."

"So he's completely independent?" Momonga asked. "His realm doesn't seem all that large. Is he not part of some larger empire or nation?"

"No. There are lots of other territories with lots of other bosses, but every boss can do whatever he wants." The description made Momonga think of the Warring States Era of China, or of the Dark Ages in Europe. "It's been that way since the Last War."

"Oh? Tell me of this Last War."

Both Tobi's eyebrows leapt up. "How could anyone not know about it?"

A hand fell on his shoulder and gave a painful squeeze. "Answer Momonga-sama's question," Yuri told him.

Tobi gave a grunt of pain. Momonga waved a hand and Yuri released her grip.

"My followers and I come from a faraway place and know nothing of this war or of your land."

Tobi took a deep breath and looked at all his captors. "You're Easterners? But how could you not know, it happened there too."

"Do not ask questions of Momonga-sama," Cocytus growled.

"I… I apologize."

"Tell me about this Last War. I take it, it is important."

"It happened about two hundred years ago. The Western Alliance controlled all of Vallesara, they were a group of peaceful, technologically advanced, and enlightened nations. They built all sorts of wondrous things and their people were all rich and no one was hungry. They even travelled to the stars and to other worlds. It was a golden age. But then the treach- er, ah, the Eastern Horde of Qazvin attacked us. Cobalt bombs rained down on every city in Vallesara and burned away the land and the people. The bombs made dead lands where nothing will grow and where you will grow sick and die if you walk there. Most of the technology was gone, what we have left are just the scraps. In a few places they can still build new things, but in most, like here, it's all we Techs can do to keep the things we have running."

"I see." What was described might have happened in his own world if the Cold War had ever led to a nuclear exchange. He also suspected that if Nazarick had wound up in Qazvin rather than here they might have had a different view on events. That was irrelevant though. The important thing was that this was a post-apocalyptic setting, where the trigger events had occurred over two hundred years ago and people had not yet fully recovered. The mention of travelling to the stars and other worlds suggested a level of technology at least as advanced as on Earth, possibly more so. On his world people had walked on the moon and Mars. There had been talk from America and China about a manned mission to Europa for years, but nothing had come of it. How many 'worlds' had these people actually visited?

A very interesting question. His immediate concern was how much of that technology still existed? Clearly these people had automatic weapons, engines, radar, and likely radio communications. Obviously, if any of these people had functioning nuclear weapons that would be the worst case scenario, but given the situation described it was extremely unlikely. He would go over the list of what technologies still existed with this man very, very carefully. But that could wait.

"Tell me, what do you know of magic?"

"Nothing, I'm a Tech. I am too busy to learn party tricks."

"Party tricks," Momonga repeated slowly. "So in this world magic is something for the amusement of children?"

"I suppose there are adults who like it too. I don't think there are any regular magicians in Turnersport, but I'm sure there are a few people who can pull coins out of ears."

"What about other races?"

"Other races? You mean besides Easterners? There are the Attui and South Islanders. I don't know much about them. I've never met one and they live very far from here."

"I mean races other than man; dwarves, elves, centaurs, or goblins."

Tobi simply stared back at him.

"What about monsters? Dragons, vampires, werewolves, giants, unicorns, zombies…"

Tobi's mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

"Answer Momonga-sama," Yuri told him.

"Are you asking seriously?"

"I am," Momonga said. "Though from your reaction I can guess the answer."

"All those creatures are just stories. None of them are real."

"Is that so?" Lupisregina asked with a giggle.

Yuri motioned for her to be quiet.

Momonga glanced at Shizu. "What about robots?"

"Robots, cyborgs, and artificial intelligences are all very real, or at least were in the golden age. Some of them may still exist in some places, but not in Turnersport. The most advanced machinery we have are two Fox class mecha."

"You have mecha? Giant fighting robots?"

"The Fox class is a scout mecha, only twelve tons and not very heavily armed. I know for sure Hannover has some bigger ones; Wolf and Bear class medium combat mecha, twenty –five to forty tons. The really big mechas are Tiger, Titan, and Dragon. Those are heavy combat types ranging from sixty to a hundred and ten tons."

If what Tobi was saying was true then this world's technology was far beyond that of his world's. Drones had existed for over a century. Automated household servants were a luxury item that had only recently come on the market and cost more than a luxury car. Virtual reality existed and there were advanced computer programs that could problem solve and interact with people well enough to give the impression of a real personality. But genuine artificial intelligence didn't exist. Mecha could only be found in manga or anime.

And while the technology of this world might be different it appeared to have the same physics and natural laws as Earth. Humans were the only sentient species. Other intelligent races did not exist. Monsters did not exist. Magic did not exist.

Except for him and the forces of Nazarick. They had brought impossible things to this world and made them reality. _Why_? Momonga wondered. He had never been a particularly religious person, but it was undeniable that some greater force had brought him here. You could call it God, fate, aliens, or anything else you liked, but _something_ had transported him and the guild to this world. And whatever force was responsible, Momonga was sure there had to be a reason behind it. This was not a random meteor crashing into the earth to wipe out the dinosaurs. What had happened was not possible given the known laws of physics. Something had deliberately broken those laws to deposit him and his NPCs here, with all their magic and unique abilities and items intact. It could not be an accident.

Well the philosophical ramifications of all this could wait. He looked at Shizu and Solution. "What did you find?"

Shizu stepped forward and put her crate down in front of Momonga. "There was an armory. It contained an additional six semi-automatic rifles and thirty magazines, each holding twenty-six rounds of ammunition."

Solution stepped forward and put her crate down. "We found folders with both writings and drawings. As well, there was one book."

Momonga moved to inspect the crate Solution had brought. The additional rifles and ammunition might be useful, but they had already acquired some from the prisoners. The book and papers were more interesting. Momonga looked through the folders and the papers they contained. On the sheets were blocks of text as well as drawings and various symbols connected by lines. One of them was obviously the twin machine guns on their swivel platform. Another looked like the radar dish.

"What are these?"

"Schematics for everything onboard I might have to repair; the engine, battery, radar, radio, and all the electrical systems."

"Could you build things?"

Tobi immediately nodded. "If I had the parts and plans. I'm a Tech, building and repairing machinery is what I do."

"Excellent, you may prove very useful to me. Serve me loyally and I will treat you very well, even better than your current employer has."

Tobi choked out a startled laugh. "That wouldn't be hard."

"What do you mean?"

Tobi put a finger to his cheek and traced the triangular scar there. "I'm a Tech, it would be hard to treat me worse. I was taken from my parents as a child, branded, and enrolled in school. I was taught to read and write, to do advanced mathematics, to work with my hands and to learn as much as possible so I can serve my master. When I am not working I am locked up in the school with all the other Techs. I am not entitled to free time, I am not allowed to ever marry or have a family, I may not carry any sort of weapon, I am not allowed to own anything, I am given just enough food, and required to work however many hours are needed. If this were not enough, most people loathe Techs and put up with us only because we're necessary."

"You are treated like slaves."

"Yes."

"Why? Why would people with so much intelligence and skill be treated like that?" Momonga came from a society obsessed with grades and academic standing. Where if you were accepted into an elite college you were guaranteed to be a success.

"People hate us because they blame us for the Last War, for building the bombs that killed the world. They blame us for the energy shortage and for when things break down and can't be fixed."

"You are scape goats," Momonga said with distaste. "Take my word, Tobi, I know how to reward good service."

"I understand… master."

"Swear your loyalty to me and I will accept you as one of my own. 

"Momonga-sama, you'd allow an insect like this to join Nazarick?" Nabarel sounded shocked.

Momonga saw everyone present except for Sebas and Shizu nod in agreement. "I do not care what race my servants are, so long as they serve me loyally." Momonga then removed his mask to reveal his true face.

Tobi stared wide eyed. "Wh- what are you?"

"I am the arch lich Momonga, ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown. I do not expect you to understand, but I am a being unlike any you have ever imagined. Black flame." He cast a tier four spell, creating a black fire in the palm of his right hand. "What matters is that if you swear to serve me I will be a good master to you. Though should you ever break faith with me you will suffer a fate far crueler than death. If you will not swear you will merely be my prisoner, and I will make no guarantees. So, will you swear?"

Tobi licked his lips and then lowered his face all the way to the deck. "I swear eternal loyalty to you Momonga-sama."

"Good, you may stand." As Tobi rose to his feet, Momonga carefully took the book, it looked ancient. The cover had fallen off and the pager were all yellow and worn. "Your very first task will be to teach Sebas and all the Pleiades maids your language and number system." He carefully put the book back down.

"Yes, master."

Momonga nodded to Yuri. "Take all this to my private residence. Find him quarters on the ninth floor, explain to him the nature of Nazarick and give him as much food as he wants."

"And the other humans?"

"Bring them to the prison on the fifth floor for now."

"Yes, Momonga-sama."

The maids easily carried one or two prisoners over their shoulders as they led Tobi through the gate.

When they were gone Momonga turned to Sebas. "Keep a close eye on him, if he does anything suspicious inform me immediately."

The iron butler bowed to him. "Yes, Momonga-sama."


	5. Servant

The Gull was a single engine propeller driven seaplane. It could seat two and carry up to a thousand pounds of cargo. A single .65 mm machine was attached to the wing above the cockpit. The plane could obtain a maximum speed of a hundred and sixty miles per hour. With a full battery she had a range of six hundred miles, which meant she could cross the entire span of the Delta ten times before having to set down. She also represented the sum total of the air force of Turnersport.

The Evil Witch had been expected back some time yesterday morning but had never arrived. The ship was not responding to radio calls. There had been no storms and everyone assumed that if they had run into some sort of trouble they would have called in an alert. The guess was there had been some sort of critical failure to the entire electric system, which would have killed not only the engines but the radio as well. Bloody Billy had ordered them out to try and find his missing ship. So far they'd had no luck.

In the pilot's seat was Stacy Powell, next to him his co-pilot Barret Emerson was looking down with a pair of binoculars.

"We're coming up on Cutler's Point." Stacy noted.

"Hey! I think I see them!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! It looks like they wrecked, the whole boat is on the island!"

"Sky and sea! Bloody Billy's not going to like that. John's dead, he might even shoot the whole crew. Are they okay? Can you see them?"

"Nope, get us lower so I can get a better view."

"Sure." Stacy dropped to forty feet above the waves and turned toward the island. Even without binoculars he spotted the ship. Stacy frowned, it didn't look quite right.

Barret lowered his binoculars and had an embarrassed grin. "Uh, sorry, I guess it's not the Evil Witch."

When they passed directly overhead Stacy got a clear view of a rusted out hulk that had probably been sitting there since before he was been born. "Are you fucking blind?"

"I said I was sorry."

"I'm just glad I didn't radio it in."

He climbed back up to their original cruising altitude and returned to course.

XXX

"A machine that flies without magic," Sebas said. "Most impressive."

"I believe we will witness many wonders in this new world." Momonga said. He was in his quarters observing the plane in the Mirror of Remote Viewing. He was actually slightly disappointed that the plane looked like something that might have been used in the Second World War. When the imps had spotted it he'd been hoping to see a flying mecha, preferably one that looked like a Gundam.

"Momonga-sama, is it truly wise to rely entirely on an illusion to hide our presence?"

"The fog was what drew attention from the ship. I was originally concerned about using an illusion because of detection spells our enemies might have. But if this is a world without magic that is no longer an issue."

"Can it really be true, Momonga-sama? I find it hard to imagine."

"Yggdrasil is not the only existence, Sebas." He deliberately tried to sound mysterious, and by the way his butler nodded had succeeded. The denizens of the tomb viewed him and all the forty-one Supreme Beings as gods. As the members of the guild quit or stopped coming, the NPCs had interpreted it as their gods departing the world for some other dimension or plane of existence. It was easy for Sebas and the others to believe he knew everything.

Momonga was all too painfully aware of his limitations, and the need to keep up the pretense. Would they follow him if they realized just how little he actually knew? Information was vital. Momonga glanced at the materials that had been taken from the human ship. The weapons might well prove useful, but Shizu already carried a rifle. His followers were familiar with the concept of firearms, at least. The maps were valuable, but only to a degree. They covered the local area. Momonga would need to acquire more extended and detailed maps of this world to plan things out. He was not an engineer or electrician and could not read schematics, he would need to rely on Tobi and others like him to get use from them. The item that interested Momonga the most was the book.

Given its worn condition it had to be very old, perhaps even coming from the time prior to their nuclear war. If people had held onto it through generations it had to have some sort of special value. It might be a history book, describing the world as it once was. It might contain some myths or fables central to the belief system of this world. Perhaps it was great literature? This world's version of Shakespeare, Hemmingway, or Kishimoto. Whatever it was he was very curious to learn what was written on those pages. Unfortunately, the magic that automatically translated spoken words for him did not work on anything written. He could have had Tobi read it to him, but he wanted to wait until Sebas or one of the maids could do so. Tobi was still in the process of earning his full trust. He did not want the man to give a selective translation, editing out or altering anything he was afraid to reveal. Momonga would wait until he could find out exactly what was on those pages.

In the meantime there was still very much to learn.

XXX

Tobi was honestly not sure whether or not he was lucky. He was currently in his quarters, he had a real bed and his very own bathroom. On board the Evil Witch he'd slept on a cot in the engine room. When he was at the school he shared a room with five other Techs and slept on blankets on the floor. Yesterday he'd been given a hamburger, plate of fries, a pickle, and a slice of apple pie for dinner. His last meal on the ship had been some salted fish and a single roll of stale bread. Since his arrival through the gate, he had been treated with courtesy, if not much warmth. That was still miles better than what was normal for him. He was used to hard work and long hours, so the idea of teaching did not worry him. He'd done it before, all Techs took turns teaching the students at the school. The idea that what he was doing was treason did not even cross his mind. He had no loyalty whatsoever to Bloody Billy Turner or the people of Turnersport.

On the other hand… he was living in a giant underground tomb filled with monsters. How could someone not be nervous about that? Yuri had taken him aside and spoken to him for awhile, explaining things. This place and these people were from a different world, one where monsters and magic were real, and had been transported here by some unknown force. Momonga was supposed to be a living god, the last of forty-one who had lived here once, and was the object of apparently fanatical devotion. Yuri had gone into frightening detail about what sorts of things would happen to him if he betrayed Momonga in any way. Tobi came from a place where beatings and torture were common, and people could be killed for any reason. But he'd found himself shaking. Even Bloody Billy didn't go so far as to skin people, dip them in acid, or saw off limbs. He also could magically heal them and repeat the process.

Before coming here he'd have laughed at the whole idea of magic or monsters being real. But he could not deny the gate he'd walked through had instantly taken him from the prow of the ship to the inside of a corridor. He'd seen people walking around with human bodies and the heads of animals, as well as a penguin carrying a feather duster and talking about why he should be the supreme leader. Tobi wanted there to be some sort of rational explanation. So far the best he'd come up with was that these people were either Easterners or aliens bent on invasion and using incredibly advanced technology that functioned like magic, and robots designed like monsters. The likeliest scenario was that the fish he'd had was bad and he was in his cot having some sort of vivid fever dream. He could accept any one of those three possibilities more readily than what he'd been told.

"Not that it really matters," he muttered to himself. Whether they were aliens, eastern spies, or figments of his imagination he would do as he was told and make the best of his situation.

About twenty minutes later there was a knock on his door. He opened it to find the maid called Shizu standing there. She had light red hair, an eye patch, a maid uniform with gloves, leggings, and a scarf of camouflage, and a very fancy silver rifle on her hip.

"It is breakfast time. Please come with me. Following the meal you are to commence our instruction."

"Yes, I understand."

He followed her down the corridor.

"You're a robot, right? Or are you a cyborg? Ah, if you don't mind my asking."

"Your query does not offend me." She said in a monotone. "My proper designation is automaton, not robot. I am classified a sentient mechanical being."

"So you're an AI?" Tobi was excited just at the prospect of interacting with one. Among Techs AIs were the stuff of legend. Even more than spaceships or the cobalt bombs, they represented the peak creation of the golden age. When she shook her head he was a little disappointed.

"No, I am not an artificial intelligence, those did not exist in Yggdrasil. I am the result of extremely advanced programming. I was programmed to carry out the tasks assigned me by the Supreme Beings, to gather information, problem solve, and to love cute things."

Tobi raised an eyebrow. "You were made to love cute things?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I lack that information, but we do not question the reasons of the Supreme Beings."

"Right."

As they were walking they came across a beautiful woman dressed in white with horns coming out of her head. For some reason she was staring directly at him with a dire expression.

"Shizu, what is this lower being doing here? Why isn't he in the prison?"

"Momonga-sama ordered he be kept on this floor to act as an instructor."

The horned woman's frown deepened. "Prisoners should not be permitted on this floor, so close to Momonga-sama's presence."

"I'm not a prisoner," Tobi said. "I've sworn allegiance to the master."

That was a mistake. Too fast to see she grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"YOU DARE?!" She screamed into his face. "You speak of swearing allegiance to the glorious darkness that is my love and master? What has a filthy lower life form like you done to DESERVE such a privilege?!"

She pinned him there with one hand and squeezed tight enough to keep him from breathing. He beat against her arm but she didn't seem to notice.

"Well you worthless creature? I asked you a question."

"I don't believe he is currently capable of speech as you have closed his airway."  
Shizu calmly replied.

Tobi was sure he was about to die.

"Albedo! What are you doing?"

The woman let go of him and he gasped, able to breathe again. The master had appeared along with the man in a suit called Sebas. The woman's entire demeanor changed in an instant. She ignored the person she'd been about to choke to death and turned towards Momonga. Her cheeks took on a rosy glow, as she put her hands together and smiled dreamily.

"Momonga-sama, did you sleep well?"

"I am undead, Albedo, I do not sleep. What is going on here?"

"I was simply asking this worthless lower lifeform why he was desecrating these sacred walls with his loathsome presence." She said all that with a sweet tone.

"I believe he may be very useful to me, so I have chosen to make him one of my servants."

"Of course, Momonga-sama. Even a fly or a worm can be useful. But to permit such an insignificant creature to claim the honorable title of servant is a mockery to all those who are truly devoted to you."

"Are you questioning Momonga-sama's judgement?" Sebas asked.

"Never! Momonga-sama is incapable of being mistaken. If he thinks this filthy scum may be of use then I am sure he can be. I only say he should be used as a slave." She suddenly turned back to Tobi, glaring at him with a murderous intensity. He could actually feel her hatred and loathing press down on him. "Would you gladly take your own life if Momonga-sama ordered it?"

Tobi gulped. "I… I'd really rather not."

She turned back to Momonga waving both hands. "Do you see? What kind of servant is that?"

"Albedo, I am glad for your devotion. But you must keep this fact in mind. Humans are the sole intelligent race on this planet. If Nazarick is to survive and grow I must have humans in my service, whether you view them as lower lifeforms or not."

"Then let them serve as slaves, which would only be proper." She bowed low to him. "Please place me or Demiurge in charge of them and I promise we will get them to work hard for you!"

"No. Some of them will be prisoners and have to be compelled, but I prefer to have them serve of their own free will whenever possible."

The woman let out a defeated sigh. "As you wish, Momonga sama."

Momonga nodded. "Now come, I want to go over the daily reports."

"Hai."

Momonga returned to his quarters. The second he was no longer in the hall. The horned woman turned to look at him again with blatant contempt. "Step carefully, worthless lower life form. You are nothing but a bug, and bugs get squashed." She then hurried after Momonga.

Tobi's knees felt weak and he was barely able to stand. "What… what did I do to her?"

"You are human," Shizu said. "Albedo despises humans."

"But why?"

"She was programmed that way." Shizu reached out and took hold of his elbow to steady him. "Come, we need to go or we will be late for breakfast."


	6. An Absolute Command

Following breakfast Tobi was brought to a small room. A blackboard with chalk and erasers had been provided. There were seven chairs at a table. The six maids were seated, the man named Sebas was standing.

"Please instruct us well, we are in your hands, Tobi-sensei." He bowed to him before sitting down.

"Ah, thank you." Tobi was glad they appeared to be taking this seriously. When he taught at the school the students were always quiet and respectful too, but that was because teachers were free to smack them is they didn't pay attention. Tobi was not about to try that here. "Before I begin do any of you have any questions?"

The blonde maid spoke up, he thought her name was Solution. "Are you a loud screamer?"

"Wh- what?"

Both Sebas and Yuri turned to look at her. "Solution," Sebas said. "He is a fellow servant of Nazarick, not a toy.

"I was just curious." The blonde bowed her head.

Tobi noted though she continued to stare rather intently at him. For some reason there was a little drool coming out of the corner of her mouth. Tobi got the sense it would probably be safer not to ask for any sort of clarification.

He took a piece of chalk and drew the forty letters that made up the Western alphabet. He pointed to the first which was shaped like three vertical lines. "This is the letter Ro."

XXX

Momonga eventually had the prisoners brought before him for interrogation. After freezing within the prison fortress of the fifth floor, they had all been eager to tell everything they knew and to offer to turn their coats. They knew little that was actually valuable. The prisoners could tell him what equipment Turnersport had, but no specific details. Tobi had serviced those machines and knew everything about them. Likewise, the prisoners could tell him about the physical outline of the city and local settlements, but Tobi had given him the same information. What was more, Momonga had used the Mirror of Remote Viewing to see it for himself.

Turnersport had a total population of about five thousand. The other settlements in the region had only a few hundred people each. They all considered Turnersport to be a city, in Japan it would have been considered a small town. The men were expert at handling their ship and various weapons, but they did not know much else. Four of them admitted they were illiterate and felt no embarrassment about it. The sailors had a very strange bias against education and knowledge, they equated it with weakness and cowardess. Physical courage and toughness were the only traits they respected. People who did not carry weapons; farmers, shopkeepers, fishermen, and others were looked down on. This also included women, who were expected to have children and stay home to raise them. But Techs, who were the best educated and technically skilled people in their society, were especially despised.

Momonga pointed out that people with greater knowledge and skills were useful. The captain of the sailors had an answer for him.

"A toilet's useful, doesn't mean you don't still shit on it."

This, more than anything else, drove home the fact that these men were barbarians. They were Mongols who just happened to carry automatic rifles instead of composite bows. They cared nothing for the freedoms or rights of others. They had no sense of duty or loyalty. So far as they were concerned the strong had the right to take whatever they pleased.

All the sailors eagerly offered to work for him. Momonga decided to instead give them to Demiurge to do with as he pleased. As the men were dragged away screaming, Momonga was surprised at how little he felt. The idea of torture and taking human life did not bother him. He wondered if his new form had caused him to change mentally as it had physically.

XXX

Momonga used the mirror to safely investigate Turnersport.

His very first impression was that it was dirty. Only its main thoroughfare and a few other streets were paved, the rest were dirt roads. The alley ways all seemed to be piled up with refuse and there was trash scattered all around. All the buildings were crammed in together and looked weathered, they were built from wood or red bricks. None of them were painted, every structure had a faded, worn look to it.

Near the water were warehouses, a fish market, and shops making rope, sail, and other goods. On the waterfront itself there were wooden piers, some empty and some with sail boats tied up to them. The pier at the far right had a metal ship that dwarfed the others. Two men with rifles stood guard in front of the ship's walkway. At another was the seaplane he had seen the other day. On the bay were boats dropping nets to fish, all but one was wind powered or had oars. The sole exception had an iron furnace that was black with soot. A man tossed in firewood to feed it, and a steady greyish smoke rose from it.

Just behind the docks were the windmills, fifteen of them. They stood about three stories tall and each had four blades going round at a steady pace. A black cable ran from each along a string of wooden poles that covered the waterfront. They converged on a squat two story building that was on Main Street. A single cable then exited this building, carried by more poles. The individual houses were not connected. From watching day and night Momonga knew only a handful of buildings received electricity.

One was a massive structure of red brick that sprawled over the area of four city blocks. This the factory, where they were able to produce munitions and various weapons. Those were the only things mass produced in Turnersport. Everything else was hand made in small workshops or in the Techs' school.

The school also received electricity. The building was two stories and surrounded by a high wall with watch towers and only one gate. The towers and gate were always manned by armed soldiers. The place looked far more like a prison than it did a school.

Momonga saw Techs enter and exit at all times of day or night. They went in groups of one up to six. The Techs would works for twelve or more hours and then return when their task was completed or replacements arrived. Momonga noted that when they worked common people would deliberately avoid them. Many went to so far was to cross from one side of the street to the other. The attitude of the ship captain was obviously the social norm.

There was an army base located near the docks. It consisted of a couple warehouses and a dozen wooden barracks. He estimated there to be between two to three hundred armed men living there. On the grounds of the base were three rusty cars and a truck, all four vehicles had machine guns mounted on them. The vehicles would go out on patrol and then return to be hooked into the electric system. Momonga never spotted any other motorized vehicles. Most of the people got around on foot. There were also bicycles and horses and horse drawn wagons.

The only other building to receive electricity was a castle located next door to the army base. It appeared to be the center of the local government. A lot of foot traffic came and went all through the day. Many of the two man patrols also reported there before returning to the base.

There was no way to miss all the patrols with armed soldiers that covered Turnersport. The regular people kept out of their way, and jumped to do whatever they were told. On more than a few occasions Momonga would watch the patrols harass a pretty woman or push around someone for no obvious reason he could see. When these incidents happened passersby would walk away as quickly as they could while pretending not to notice.

Was this really what passed for civilization in this world?

XXX

Shizu hesitated. While she was programmed to obey all orders of the Supreme Beings, she was also programmed to defend them, even at the cost of her own life. When directives came into conflict she was forced to gather information and problem solve. She needed to prioritize her commands. In the current situation there was a simple method she could use to gather the necessary additional information.

"Momonga-sama, are you certain you wish me to carry out this order?"

He nodded. "Yes, go ahead."

"As you wish Momonga-sama." She was in the throne room with one of the rifles taken from the prisoners. Shizu had made herself familiar with its function. There was already a full clip of ammunition and a round in the chamber. She thumbed the selector level from safety to full automatic fire. Shizu then opened fire on Momonga-sama and emptied the magazine.

When it was done, Momonga again nodded. "Excellent, as I suspected, Higher Tiered Nullification was effective. In practical terms, these human firearms are low level weapons. These bullets can be defeated both by this passive skill and by magical armor."

"I am very pleased to hear that, Momonga-sama." Shizu slapped in a fresh magazine and worked the bolt to chamber a round.

"Now we will move onto the next experiment." He motioned to an ogre named Alaric, a level twenty-five monster with a hundred and forty hit points. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Momonga-sama." The ogre bowed and turned to face Shizu.

"Please remember," Momonga said. "I want only one shot and it must be to the head.

"Understood." Shizu was a level three sniper and Alaric was standing just thirty feet away. The human weapon was not the finely crafted tool her own sniper rifle was. But it was good enough. She sighted, aimed, and squeezed.

This time a single shot rang out. The bullet went through Alaric's right eye and exited the back of his skull, along with most of his brain. The ogre immediately collapsed and fell over dead. Unlike the result of the previous experiment, this one did not appear to please her lord.

"It seems this world works under a combination of the laws of physics and the game mechanics of Yggdrasil. The bullet inflicted twenty-six hit points of damage, yet it was lethal. It seems that under certain circumstances even powerful individuals can be killed with these weapons. I will need to keep this in mind. Well done, Shizu."

She bowed. "Thank you for allowing me to serve you, Momonga-sama."

"Now, let me resurrect Alaric."

XXX

Momonga was not the only one to learn useful things.

Demiurge fell to one knee and presented Momonga a basic fire scroll. "Please use this, Momonga-sama. The Librarian assures me it will serve."

Momonga read the words written on the scroll. The result was a moderate ball of fire. As the spell activated the scroll disintegrated to ash.

"Excellent! You've found a native source for making low level scrolls?"

"I have. Making potions in this world is still uncertain, but I can confirm we have the means to make as many scrolls as necessary."

"Well done, you have not only served me well but made Nazarick more secure."

Demiurge had a wide smile. "I am unworthy of such praise, to serve you and Ainz Ooal Gown is my greatest joy."

Momonga nodded. "Tell me, what is the source, and is the supply large?"

"Ah, it was made from the skins of the human prisoners. It turns out to be an excellent substitute for enchanted parchment. Even better, once the skin is converted into a scroll healing magic can be used to restore the skin. Meaning a single human can be harvested multiple times. Given the number of humans in the world we should have absolutely no problem acquiring enough of them to meet our needs. A herd of perhaps one hundred should be more than enough."

 _The scroll was made out of human skin?!_ The thought was initially disturbing, but his emotions were quickly suppressed by his undead nature. When he thought about it he knew he should have been completely disgusted by the notion of using prisoners this way. But as soon as the initial emotional response was removed he discovered he didn't really care.

The people of this world were barbarians. He'd watched them carefully over the past week. They had no culture, no sense of community, no respect for beauty or cleanliness or education. The only thing these people respected was force. Momonga couldn't even make himself care about the civilians of this world. They might be helpless victims of their local tyrant and his armed men, but he'd seen the way they treated the Techs. They were every bit as cruel and uncaring as the soldiers, just weren't as well armed.

Rationally, Momonga understood these people were living in a world that had suffered nuclear devastation, and did not have the resources or population of modern Japan. But that excuse only went so far. This world might not compare to the real world he was from, but these people had, had two hundred years to recover. And they were only technologically backward if you compared them to a fully industrialized society. In comparison with Yggdrasil they were very advanced, and these people _did_ have resources. They might not be as abundant as in Yggdrasil, but they existed. The people here could have built something worthwhile… if it had been a priority.

Every culture was shaped by what a people valued. Family, nature, art, wealth, stability, order, knowledge, or whatever else that mattered. A people decided what truly mattered to them and acted accordingly. The people of this world cared only about force.

"Very good. When we conquer Turnersport you can acquire as many humans as you need. Now the important thing is to try and find a way to make potions using local ingredients."

Demiurge nodded. "I will conduct research into this area next."

XXX

Ten days had passed since the capture of the Evil Witch. Momonga had gathered all of the guardians together. Momonga and his followers had been conducting all sorts of experiments in order to gain knowledge in different areas.

One of these experiments was a bit more subtle, and aimed not at the humans, but rather at his own followers.

In Yggdrasil, PCs could gain experience points and gain levels, statistics, new abilities, new classes, new spells, and new proficiencies until they were capped at level one hundred. NPCs weren't allowed to gain experience points or to grow. They were given their level, statistics, classes, inventory of spells, and other attributes when they were created. And once they were brought into the game they remained exactly the same, regardless of how they were used.

Momonga wanted to see if in this world, NPCs could learn and grow. The cooking experience had been a disaster, but he was not ready to give up. He had deliberately asked Tobi to teach Sebas and the Pleiades his language to see if it was possible. With seven participants it would provide a decent sample size for the experiment. The results had been varied. Both Entoma and Solution had failed miserably to even memorize the alphabet. Lupisregina managed to do that much at least, but was not progressing. Naberal had gotten the basics of grammar and sentence structure. Yuri and Sebas had actually started to read at a very basic level. Given the amount of time spent, Momonga was actually encouraged. It seemed that at least some of the NPCs might be capable of learning.

And then there was Shizu.

According to Tobi she was now fluent in the written language of the West. As an automaton Shizu had a photographic memory and was, literally, built to acquire and store information. She had learned the alphabet, the rules of grammar and sentence structure, the tenses, and other forms on the first day. The rest of the time was devoted to memorizing vocabulary and definitions. Momonga was greatly pleased by Shizu's ability and had brought the guardians to the throne room to act as an audience to the book reading. He wanted all of them to listen to whatever story was in the book and to give their own opinions. Momonga knew they might have a perspective he lacked.

"Momonga-sama," Albedo spoke. "While we are always happy to gather in your presence and be of service in any way, I do not understand the point of this."

"There is an ancient saying from a great military strategist. 'Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you need not fear.' Even if the humans appear weak, it is still wise to try and learn about them. Even leaving battle aside, it would help afterwards to better understand them."

"Ah, I understand now," Albedo bowed her head. "You merely wish to leave nothing to chance."

Demiurge nodded approvingly. "As expected of our inscrutable ruler."

Momonga motioned to Shizu, who was holding the tome they had found onboard the human vessel. "You may begin, Shizu."

"Understood." Shizu began reading with her monotone voice. "Marla sauntered over to her master in her naughty little maid uniform. She knew how much Roderick liked it when she wore her black stockings and garter belt. With one hand she slowly fondled her own large and supple breasts. Marla loved how Roderick was staring at her so hungrily. His manhood was already stirring, the young master was only seventeen and constantly full of energy. Her hips rhythmically rocked from side to side and her milky white thighs rubbed together as she approached. 'What can I do for you, master?' She teased with an innocent little girl smile. 'You know what I want!' He grabbed her by the back of the head and roughly forced her down to her knees. She gave a throaty laugh and slowly ran her tongue over her lips, oh yeah, she knew what he wanted. Taking her fingers she-"

"That's enough!" Momonga cried. If he'd actually had a face it would have been as red as a tomato. The book was erotica? Somehow that had never occurred to him. Luckily, the sense of utter embarrassment and shame were quickly suppressed. "I think we have the, ah, gist."

"Actually, Momonga-sama," Shalltear had an excited look on her face. "I would like to hear more."

Albedo's cheeks were bright red as she nodded. "I would also like to hear the rest, it might be very educational."

 _Educational how?_ Momonga wondered.

Demiurge pushed his glasses up with one finger. "Should we not be thorough in our examination of the enemy, Momonga-sama?"

To his surprise he noted all the other guardians were nodding. If they felt this way as a group he couldn't disappoint them. "Very well, please continue Shizu."

"Yes."

And for the next couple hours they listened to the tale of Marla the Lustful Maidservant. Immediately after both Shalltear and Albedo needed some time alone.

XXX

"How much do you think this would be worth?" Momonga handed Tobi a gold coin. "I realize your currency is paper, but give me a rough estimate."

Tobi turned the coin in his fingers and examined it. "This is gold?"

"Yes it is, with a purity of above ninety-nine percent."

"Well, maybe you could sell it for two or three guilders."

"Is that all?" Momonga said in surprise, he had initially guessed the exchange rate would be at least a hundred to one. And he'd tried to be conservative.

"Well I suppose you could melt this down and make some shiny rings or necklaces, but that's all. It's a soft metal so it doesn't really have a practical use."

"Huh, I had not expected that. In the world I am from gold has always been highly valued. In ancient times most societies used it and silver as modicums of exchange."

"Well in some of the old stories and myths men treasured it, but we don't now. For us gold is just a pretty metal."

"What do you value then?"

"Guns, weapons, iron, saltpeter, rubber, any kind of working tech, and the most valuable substance is solnium."

"Oh? I am familiar with the other materials you mentioned, but I have never heard of solnium. What is it?"

"Really? Forgive me for saying this, but I can't imagine a very advanced society in a world without it."

"And why is that?"

"It was the power source of the golden age. Mankind went from using water and wind power, to coal, to oil, to atomic energy, and finally to solnium. It was solnium crystals that powered the ships that traveled the stars. It was said that one pound of crystals could power a city for an entire year. The ancient mechas were each powered with a single crystal, which effectively gave them unlimited energy and fuel for the service life of the mecha. All the world's known solnium mines were targeted in the Last War and are gone. But a few new sources have been discovered, and whenever they are a war erupts, as people try and take control of them. Hannover has a mine and some mecha and they're the most powerful city in this whole region because of it."

"Interesting, there was nothing like this in my world. Describe these crystals to me."

"Well I've never seen one myself, but it would be hard to mistake it for anything else. The crystals naturally break off into small pieces and give off light, they glow."

Momonga's head snapped up. He opened up a pocket dimension, reached in and took out a book. He quickly flipped through it to a drawing. "Like this?" Momonga held the book out to Tobi. Of course the man would not be able to read it, but the image was clear.

Tobi took a look, and almost immediately nodded. "Yes, that looks like solnium. I don't understand, I thought your world didn't have any."

"We called them something else, reward crystals." Momonga laughed softly. If reward crystals existed in this world, then all sorts of new possibilities were suddenly open to him. And for the first time a frightening thought entered his mind.

 _I could be God here._

XXX

Momonga once more had a gathering in the throne room. This time he had assembled not only the floor guardians but the Pleiades Maids, area guardians, and other important servants. All of them were kneeling before the throne and Momonga could sense their nervousness. They had no idea why he had summoned them all.

"It has been thirty days since we arrived here in this new world. We have gathered much information and I have made a decision I want to share with all of you. But first there is a short story I would like to tell you about."

They remained silent, but there were confused glances and blank expressions on many faces.

"Long ago there was a land called Japan. It was a beautiful and fertile island filled with a hardworking and cheerful people. But the land was ruled over by a host of petty, small minded lords who cared about nothing but their own individual status. They warred and raided each other constantly. The ordinary people suffered as they were killed, conscripted, taxed, and forced to live in constant fear and servitude. Everything was devoted to war and so Japan was nothing more than a desolate and backward war zone.

But then a man named Oda Nobunga started a series of wars to unify Japan under a single authority. He and his followers succeeded. They brought an end to all the pointless struggles, they built roads and harbors, encouraged education and the arts, supported business and brought real peace. Because of their actions Japan as able to become a great and prosperous nation."

Momonga suddenly stood up. "I have decided the reason Nazarick was brought to this world was so that I could bring peace to it! The humans here have ruined their world and are fighting each other like a pack of squabbling children. I will give the people of this world peace! And what is more I will remake it!" He pointed up at the banner that bore his name. "Greater break item."

The banner disintegrated. Throughout the hall there were shocked gasps.

"I have decided to change my name! From this day forward I am Ainz Ooal Gown! You will refer to me as Ainz-sama! Do you understand?"

Albedo lowered her face and placed a hand over her heart. "We have heard your sacred name and devote absolute loyalty to you. Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, banzai!"

"Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, banzai!" Every throat there were cried out.

"We shall give ourselves completely to the Supreme One," Shalltear said.

"To the most powerful king," Aura and Mare spoke as one.

"Everyone in this world will know of your greatness," Demiurge promised.

"The one who rules over all, our king," Cocytus said.

"Glory to the Overlord! The ruler of death!" Albedo declared.

Ainz slammed down the staff. "Loyal servants of Nazarick! I give you an absolute command! Conquer this world in my name! Make every knee bend and acknowledge me as absolute ruler!"

His followers screamed in delirious joy.

XXX

The next morning was a regular day down by the docks of Turnersport. When a portal opened no one immediately noticed. It wasn't until the skeletons began coming out that people paid attention.


	7. Defeat Is Not Possible

**Author's Note:** Since a few people have asked about this let me clear it up. This story is not a crossover with anything else. The setting is original. Those of you familiar with my fanfiction know most of my stories are AUs of one sort or another. I figured since the premise of Overlord is a player and a number of NPCs getting sent to a real world, it was a perfect set up to send them to my own unique setting.

XXX

The skeletons that were automatically spawned by Nazarick were the weakest combat forces Ainz had at his disposal. They were standard level one skeletons with five hit points, an attack power of one, an armor rating of zero, and a movement rate of slow. Most of them were equipped with either a rusty sword or a wooden club. There were currently over thirteen thousand of them available. They were simply battle fodder. Back in Yggdrasil they were stationed outside the main entrance of the tomb and programmed to attack any strangers on sight. They weren't meant to provide any kind of real defense. Their role was just to delay an attacking party for a few minutes and allow any available Ainz Ooal Gown members to get ready. Any floor guardian, area guardian, or Pleiades maid could annihilate them in a few minutes. So his decision to use just five hundred of them in the initial attack force had surprised his subordinates.

Within the cavernous throne room Ainz had assembled the floor guardians and combat maids. Albedo was in her black plate armor and had her battle axe in hand. Shalltear was in Valkyrie form. Cocytus was armed with a magical weapon in each hand. The maids were in combat dress and ready for immediate deployment.

In addition, each floor guardian was permitted to select fifty soldiers who were also packed into the throne room. Golems, trolls, devils, vampire brides, wights and other strong monsters were ready and eager to kill in Ainz's name. They were here form show more than actual need.

"Ainz-sama," Demiurge asked. "Is it truly wise to use such weak troops? You are not even using the Veteran or Master Guards."

The Veteran Guards and Master Guards were each units of three thousand more powerful skeletons, and all of them equipped with magical arms and armor. They were meant to aid Shalltear in defending the upper levels. They were also fodder, but were slightly more valuable than the Common Guards.

"I agree," Albedo said. "Not only are they weak but to use them in such small numbers… even such pathetic creatures as the humans might have some hope against them. To even permit the possibility of defeat is unthinkable!"

"No such possibility exists Albedo," Ainz assured her and all the others listening. "I do not expect the skeletons to win. They are merely disposable pieces we will use to draw out all the enemy forces and allow us to see how dangerous they truly are. Even allowing that the humans are stronger than expected, there is more than enough power here to deal with them."

Demiurge grinned and nodded approvingly. "Ah, so this is merely one more experiment?"

"That's right. Defeat is not possible. The actual outcome was decided the moment I chose to conquer this city. So the only real question is how to defeat them with the smallest cost and collateral damage."

"Brilliant," Albedo sighed. "As one would expect of Ainz-sama."

"A beautiful strategy by our supreme leader," Shalltear declared.

"Now we will watch the opening of the battle. Gate." A gateway opened. Two abreast the skeletons shambled forward and crossed over. The line churned ahead, since there was only room for two it would take a little time to get all five hundred there. "Now keep in mind, I want as many living subjects as possible and to capture this place as intact as I can. Corpses can obviously be useful and a certain amount of destruction is unavoidable. Any humans who are fighting can be killed, but the civilians and any who surrender are to be spared. Is that clear?"

While he didn't name names he made a point to look directly at Demiurge and Shalltear. All his followers nodded their acknowledgement of his orders. Ainz waved a hand causing the Mirror of Remote View to expand. It gave him and everyone else a clear view of the events.

It began with the screams of a couple fishermen as the first skeletons arrived. The men sensibly ran away. The skeletons raised their swords and gave a slow chase as more and more arrived right behind them. The skeletons had no intelligence and could only be given basic commands. In this case they has been ordered to 'kill the living.' Being undead they could sense life energy. As more and more of them made it through the gate some began to split off in different directions toward other people on the docks.

All the fishermen and workers started to scream and to run. People came out of their market stalls and shops to find out what was happening. When they saw the skeletons they reacted the same, yelling out in horror and running away as fast as they could. It was amazing how a few undead could turn a routine morning into a scene of mass panic. While this was going on there were three pairs of soldiers roaming the docks. They were drawn by the initial screams. Four of them took out their rifles and just started blazing away. The effects of their gunfire were negligible. One skeleton had its skull shattered and collapsed. One was hit in the spine and cut in two, its upper half continued to crawl forward. A few others had ribs shot away or an arm, but they continued unaffected.

Ainz nodded silently. Rifle bullets were considered piercing weapons in game terms and undead only took half damage from such weapons. The third pair of soldiers hung back and watched what was happening. One of them finally began to move forward to help the others, but then his partner yelled something and turned around to run away. Seeing this the other one thought better of fighting and also ran from the scene. As more and more skeletons continued to arrive the four who had opened fire also decided to run. Ainz saw one of them viciously club a woman who was in the way. None of them were trying to form some sort of line or direct the panicked civilians or help them. They just wanted to get as far away as they could from the skeletons. People who were too slow to get out of their way were thrown aside.

"Pathetic," Albedo declared. "These humans can't even put up a fight against lowly skeletons. Goblins would do better. Are they worth enslaving?"

"It's even worse than that," Cocytus declared. "They have no warrior spirit."

"Yes, they are worthless." Albedo declared. "Weak and pathetic creatures."

"That is not what I meant." Cocytus breathed out a cloud of frost. "Even the weak can be brave and possess a sense of honor. A warrior should be ready to risk his life to protect his people. There is no shame in retreating before a greater force in order to continue to fight. But these men are not retreating, they are simply running away. They are not trying to protect the people, they are only seeking to save their own lives. They are cowards, and a disgrace to warriors everywhere." Cocytus turned to the throne. "Such men are not worthy of serving you, Ainz-sama."

"Even cowards can be useful," Ainz noted. "Of course these men are worthless to me as soldiers. It would never even occur to me to use them in such a role. Their corpses would be more useful as raw material. But I have a purpose in mind for them."

Because the skeletons' movement rate was so slow and because all the shouting and gunfire gave people advanced warning, there were no immediate deaths. The very first death didn't occur until the skeletons were more than a couple blocks from the water. Some were a sail shop when an old woman came out the door almost right in front of two skeletons. Ainz couldn't imagine how she had not fled sooner given the commotion. He assumed she had to be deaf. You could very clearly see her walk outside, turn, and THEN notice there were two skeletons in front of her. There was a look of shock and confusion before a pair of swords came down and cut her in half.

The sudden, brutal death bothered Ainz. The feeling was almost immediately suppressed, but it was still a waste. Human suffering and death no longer bothered him, but that wasn't the same as him _wanting_ to cause it. The truth was Ainz saw himself in the role of Oda Nobunga, the man who had set out to end the Warring States Era of Japan. As had been the case with his homeland, this entire world was suffering because individual warlords were putting their own wants and needs ahead of their people's. He had no doubt that this world would be much better off under his direct control. Once he had the authority (and the reward crystals) he had plans to completely remake this realm. But the path to that better world was a bloody one, and he understood from the moment he made his choice that would be the case. He had to accept the fact innocent people would die to achieve his vision.

His followers were somewhat less troubled.

"Oh dear," Shalltear said. "Was she expecting a kiss?"

Almost everyone laughed. Ainz noted the way Albedo shook inside her armor. He pretended to laugh as well.

XXX

Three city blocks from the waterfront and the buildings changed from shops and store into tenements and apartment buildings. The size of the crowd running away grew noticeably. Most of the skeletons formed a single mass, deliberately following after them down Main Street. Small numbers went down the side streets or started smashing in the doors of some of the buildings. They were no doubt being drawn by the life force of people running away or by those who had chosen to barricade themselves in their homes. The army base and castle were located seven blocks from the water.

Since the first gunshots had rung out the men there had, had well over ten minutes of warning that _something_ was happening. A number of soldiers had come spilling out of their barracks. A few had exited their gate and actually gone to see for themselves what was going on. Others went to the gate and asked the people fleeing. Most of them just stood about their compound conversing. More men came out of the barracks. Some went back in. Some hurried up to others to ask their opinion. Some formed small groups and waited by the gate. Some went up to the warehouses. A couple ran across the street to the castle.

"They are completely disorganized," Demiurge noted. "They have no plan of action in case of an attack."

Cocytus nodded. "They have no discipline or clear leadership. Truly, these men are worthless as warriors."

Eventually on of the soldiers who had originally been at the docks ran in through the gate. He started yelling. The mirror did not permit them to actually hear what was being said, but it was obvious. Some of the men there yelled back at him and gestured with their hands to the street.

"They don't believe him," Demiurge said.

"They will shortly." Ainz promised.

It was only a few minutes before some of the men who were standing in front of the gate began yelling to their comrades. Many more ran over to the gate. There they were able to see clearly a wall of undead making their way slowly up the street. There were more shouts. Men waved for the others to come join them. Some ran over, some jogged, a number remained where they were talking to one another, and some were only now coming out of their barracks. Several ran to the truck and cars.

A few dozen of the soldiers outside the gate shouldered their weapons and started blazing away at the skeletons that were still about a block and a half away. There were many desperate people still running out ahead of the skeletons. The soldiers cut them down without any hesitation. Those not killed outright were left bleeding in the street until the skeletons caught up and hacked them to pieces. The sudden sound of so much concentrated gunfire seemed to finally get the full attention of the men.

Everyone with a rifle ran to the gate. The vehicles were driven out as well. The men spread out across the street and formed an uneven line. Groups knotted together to form clumps of soldiers next to two or three men spread out. Everyone was shooting at full auto, just pointing their rifles at the mass of skeletons and sending as much lead towards them as possible. The truck and cars stopped behind the soldiers. The men handling the machine guns opened up, adding their fire to the mix. No one appeared to be aiming at a specific target. No single person looked to be in charge.

The sheer volume of bullets had an effect. Dozens of skeletons were destroyed as their skulls were hit or as enough of their bones were shattered to inflict five hit points worth of damage. But hundreds kept coming forward in a relentless march. As the horde closed to within half a block it was clear to see them begin to panic. Many were backing up as they fumbled to reload. Several simply turned around and ran. You could see their line literally beginning to waver.

It was at this moment their leader arrived on the scene with a dozen armed soldiers. Bloody Billy took out a pistol and shot down one of the deserters as he tried to run away. When the men noticed his presence they appeared to give a cheer. Turner handed a pair of keys to two of the soldiers who'd left the castle with him. Both ran as fast as they could into the army base. Bloody Billy climbed up onto the flat bed of the truck and yelled something at his troops. Whether it was encouragement or threats Ainz couldn't tell, but it had the desired effect. The men settled down and began to concentrate their fire. Ainz noted that the group that had come with their leader were spread out behind their line and were not shooting themselves. They had their rifles at the ready, but waited.

The soldiers kept shooting. The effect remained the same, some skeletons were destroyed but the rest drew closer. When the skeletons were only about twenty yards away things finally became interesting. The large doors of the two base warehouses slid open and the trump cards at last made their appearance on the battlefield.

"They have iron golems!" Albedo exclaimed with interest.

"Not golems," Ainz corrected. "Mecha."

Tobi had serviced the machines and described them in detail. Even so this was Ainz's first chance to actually see them. It was oddly exciting and disappointing all at the same time. To begin with, these really were mecha; war machines in humanoid form. This was something that had not existed on Earth, and a part of Satoru Suzuki remembered being a twelve year old in love with manga and anime. There was just something undeniably 'cool' about seeing genuine mecha on the move and about to fight.

On the other hand, these machines were definitely not Gundams or EVAs. They weren't meant to look impressive and colorful, they were designed to kill. They were a more advanced version of tanks. The mecha were about fifteen feet high. They consisted of grey metal abdomen, head and arms. Instead of legs, both machines were attached to twenty foot wide disks that hovered a couple feet above the ground. There were no hands attached at the end of the arms. Instead, each was capped off by a muzzle. Tobi had also informed him these mecha couldn't fly. Ainz knew it was silly to measure a piece of real world military hardware against the imaginings of a manga artist… but he still wished they looked a little more like Gundams.

The truck was parked in front of the gate. The mecha didn't bother trying to squeeze past. Instead they flattened the wire fence that surrounded the base got onto the street. Both mecha lifted their arms. The left arms were equipped with Vulcan cannons that could fire hundreds of rounds per minute. The right arms could fire one hundred and sixteen millimeter shells. They began to fire. A steady stream of grey smoke rose from the left arms along with a river of empty cartridges. From the right came bright flashes and puffs ad empty shell cases were ejected from the top of the forearms.

The shells exploded in the midst of the undead, sending up chunks of broken bones, asphalt and dirt. Huge holes were dug out of the street. Meanwhile the front lines of skeletons disintegrated, there was really no other way to describe it. They simply went from walking undead to piles of splintered bone in the blink of an eye. The two mecha were in action for less than a minute and each lobbed on three artillery shells before they ceased fire.

When they stopped all the skeletons that had been in front of them were left in pieces. Not even one was still intact. The street had been ripped apart and one bring building had fallen in on itself. The fragment of skeletons that had split off earlier would still have to be hunted down, but the main danger was over. So far as the humans could see.

Bloody Billy pumped a fist it the air and shouted something. His men responded with cheers and hugs and some of them shooting their weapons into the air.

"My, don't they look happy?" Shalltear said mockingly.

"The fools are actually celebrating as though they've won," Albedo said.

"So far as they know they have," Cocytus said. "They have no understanding of their true situation."

"Those iron golems, they are called 'mecha,' Ainz-sama?" Demiurge asked.

"Yes."

"They were effective, at least. The humans would have lost without them."

"They were decent I suppose, but nothing truly special. Which only shows how weak they truly are," Albedo sneered. "That so many of them could do so little is simply embarrassing."

"I hope they at least taste good." Shalltear said. "Otherwise they really are worth nothing."

"Well then, this has been informative, but I think it is time to bring it to an end." Ainz said.

Every face looked at him expectantly. They all wanted the chance to fight and earn his praise.

"Albedo and Shalltear, go. Remember, I want prisoners, especially their leader."

"I will bring him to you personally, my beloved Ainz-sama!" Albedo declared excitedly. She was hugging herself.

"Watch me closely, Ainz-sama! I will crush them in your name!" Shalltear swore.

"Crush only the ones who fight back, let them live if they surrender."

"Hai!" Both said before they rushed through the gateway.

XXX

Bloody Billy Turner listened to the cheers of his men. This was the best day of his whole damn life except for the day he'd killed his predecessor and taken over. He had no idea what those monsters were, maybe they had come out of the dead zones. He would have to ask the stupid Techs about them later. For right now he was happy to stand there and listen to the men cheer his name. He'd let them shout just a little more before he'd have to get them to work. They'd need to go through the city and make sure they'd got rid of all these monsters. Then he'd have to track down any deserters who'd run away. Any man who was more afraid of monsters than of him needed a bullet in the head.

He was about to motion for quiet when he looked up and gasped. His men noticed and they looked up as well. The cheers died away, replaced by stunned silence and a few curses. Floating in the air above them were two armored figures, one in black and one in red. The black one had a helmet with horns, the other had a pale girl's face with demonic red eyes, like something out of the sacred texts.

The black clad figure spoke in a woman's voice. "Rejoice, lower life forms! You have the honor to be enslaved by the most powerful and wise being in all creation. Out of his great benevolence he gives you the chance to surrender and become his property! Toss away your worthless weapons and fall upon your knees."

"But if you'd rather die," the one in red armor said. "That's fine too."

"By sky and sea," Turner whispered. Maybe these really were demons and this was the Long Night? He looked around. "What are you assholes waiting for?! Shoot them!"

The men moved to obey. Rifles and machine guns rose. More importantly, the mecha lifted their arms to fire. Bullets were just beginning to fire when both vanished in a flash. There was a deafening sound of metal tearing apart. Before his disbelieving eyes he saw one of his precious mecha split apart, right down the middle. The two halves fell open like a piece of fruit. He got a clear look into the cockpit, Alvin was still sitting at the controls. He was cut perfectly in half too, his guts and intestines were spilling out along with blood and other pieces. Standing at the bottom of it was the black armored demon. The second mecha had a hole ripped right through the middle. The red demon had gone out the back and had Wally spitted on the end of a lance like some poor damn fish. He clearly saw Wally move his hands a little before the demon laughed and threw him away.

"Die it is!" The red demon flew straight into his men. She laughed off their bullets cut them down like they were blades of grass. He saw blood gush out and form into a ball above the demon's head.

The black demon cut one of the battle cars in two, slicing the head off the driver and gunner, the bullets were bouncing off of her. The dead had risen and now two demons were killing his men.

"The Long Night has come. The Long Night has come." He whispered in horror. He jumped down from the truck and ran. If this was the end of the fucking world he wanted to live just a little bit more. He had no thought in his head beyond simple survival.

He hadn't gotten more than twenty feet when something grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up into the sky. To his sickening horror he was staring into the helmet of the black demon.

"You are Ainz-sama's prize, I will bring you to him." The happiness in the voice chilled his soul.

He tried to scream but couldn't. There was nothing for him to do as he was taken to Hell.


	8. Lord Mortem

Screams of terror filled the air. People were running in blind panic. And there was blood! So much blood! Blood everywhere! IT WAS WONDERFUL!

"More! More! Scream for me more!" Shalltear cried out as she ripped a man apart and let his blood wash over her. "I'll eat you all!"

She couldn't believe how much fun this was! It amazed her how hot and salty the blood was, or how every breath reeked of fear! She wanted to take on her true form and just devour them! She would gorge on this magnificent banquet until she couldn't drink another drop!

" _Shalltear! What are you doing?_ " An angry voice rang out in her head.

"Ah! Ainz-sama!" Hearing his voice she suddenly recalled her orders. "Oh, no! He's going to scold me!" She had to stop and reply. " _Ainz-sama! Please don't be upset with me! They wanted to fight, I didn't have a choice!"_

" _None of them are fighting anymore. All of them are running away from you."_

" _They are?"_ Shalltear blinked. She focused her thoughts. The possibility of disappointing Ainz-sama helped pull her out of her blood frenzy. The red mist left her vision. When she stopped and looked around she noticed that she was surrounded by a pile of mangled corpses. All those still living were indeed running from her as fast as they could. Most had thrown their rifles away to make better time. " _Oh._ " She could hear a sigh of frustration.

" _Herd them together in one spot and keep them there. Don't kill any more of them."_

" _Yes! I will absolutely not fail you, Ainz-sama!"_

She hurried to give chase.

XXX

On his throne Ainz shook his head. Of course he'd known about the effect of too much blood on Shalltear. But he'd not wanted to take any chances. _Oh well,_ he thought. _It doesn't make any real difference I suppose._ He turned his attention to the matter at hand. At the foot of his throne Albedo was kneeling, hand over her heart, waiting patiently. Curled up next to her was the ruler of Turnersport. He was weeping, and Ainz was fairly sure the man had wet himself. The audience was looking on curiously. This was mainly for them, later on he would put on a performance for the residents of the city.

"Well done, Albedo. You carried out your orders perfectly."

"You are too kind, Ainz-sama. To be of use to you is my greatest joy."

Ainz gave a slight nod. "You, human, stand on your feet. A leader should hold onto his courage no matter the circumstance."

Turner didn't appear to hear as he remained on the floor sobbing.

"It seems fitting, does it not, Ainz-sama?" Demiurge asked. "All your foes should grovel before you."

Throughout the throne room heads nodded.

"Perhaps, but it is inconvenient. I have a few questions to ask him. Albedo."

"Yes." She rose smoothly to her feet. With a hand she reached down and grabbed Turner by the back of the neck. Without effort she forced him to stand. "The glorious Ainz-sama would speak with you. This is a greater honor than any of your kind deserve. Answer him with respect and reverence worthless scum."

The man lifted his eyes and saw the figure sitting upon the throne. He immediately flinched and looked away. He muttered something.

"What did you say?" Ainz asked. He felt no sympathy whatsoever for this man. He was the brutal leader of a whole tribe of savages.

When he failed to respond immediately Albedo shook him. "Ainz-sama asked you a question! Answer him, you worthless human!"

Turner rubbed a hand across his face. "I… I said it's not my fault."

"What is not your fault?"

"Everything. All the things I did. My father beat me. I grew up hungry. I just did the things I had to. I'd have died a long time ago if I weren't hard. I beg you to show me mercy, Lord Mortem."

"Address him as Ainz-sama." Albedo leaned in and hissed, making the man quiver.

"Albedo, be quiet," Ainz said. _This might be interesting._ "Who is Lord Mortem?"

The man's head jerked up and he was clearly surprised. "You are. Lord Mortem, ruler of death, night, and shadow. The world has sinned and is corrupt beyond all salvation. And so you have come at last to begin the Long Night. The world will end and everything will pass away into darkness. There will be only night, until time begins again and the world can be reborn."

Demiurge grinned. "It seems this world has a version of Ragnarok."

Yggdrasil had been explicitly based on Norse mythology. Naturally, many elements had been included in the game play. All the NPCs were familiar with the Asgardian gods, the nine realms, and the prophesy of how that world was meant to end. As it turned out, Yggdrasil hadn't ended in an orgy of betrayal and flame. The end had come with the press of a button shutting down servers.

Mention of a dark god, prophesy, and Ragnarok made Ainz think. The NPCs all accepted him as a god already. And Ainz had, had some thoughts about what he could eventually do in this world. If the people here had a mythological figure they believed would bring the end times… wouldn't it make things easier if he took on this role? If he were a part of the prophesy of this world, wouldn't people be more ready to accept him? Since the moment of his arrival here he had been playing the role of Overlord and Supreme Being. Was it really much of a stretch to play the Four Horsemen as well?

Ainz sat back on his throne and tapped his chin with a single boney finger. "Lord Mortem… the name is faint, from ages long past, but perhaps… ah, yes, I remember now." He put his hands together before his face. "I have visited many realms and left my mark. Perhaps this is the reason I was brought to this place at this time, to bring on the Long Night and end the world as you know it."

Turner remained just as terrified as before. On the many other faces Ainz could see eyes widen and mouths gape.

"Of course," Demiurge spoke with a voice tinged with awe. "We all know the other Supreme Beings departed for other worlds. Somehow none of us ever stopped to consider what worlds might have been visited prior to Yggdrasil. Like children, we assumed we were the starting point and the be all, end all. But the truth is we were just one of many sets of servants created by the Supreme Beings. It is clear now, like the others, you intended to depart Yggdrasil." There were gasps and stunned expressions throughout the throne room. "However, unlike them, you refused to abandon us. Instead bringing Nazarick and your followers with you to this new realm."

"Is this so Ainz-sama?!" Albedo removed her helmet so he could see the way her eyes were almost shining.

"Uhm… yes, it is true. You are all precious to me and the Great Tomb of Nazarick has become my home. When I felt the desire to depart Yggdrasil I chose to transport all of you with me."

"And the pretense that you did not know our location or the reason we were brought here, it was all a ruse was it not?" Demiurge asked. "You pretended to be unaware so as not to upset us, acting as though it were done by some mysterious outside force, when it was all an act of your will." Demiurge was nodding as though it were obvious.

 _Where did he get all those crazy assumptions from? I just wanted to pretend to be this Lord Mortem!_ But with every eye focused on him Ainz had no choice. "You are truly clever to have figured it out, Demiurge. Yes, our arrival here was no accident. From the beginning I intended to come and rule this world. I brought you with me because I love all of you like my children. And a good father does not abandon his children."

Demiurge bowed low. "I am unworthy of such words. My intellect is nothing compared to yours, Ainz-sama. You spin webs and I am fortunate to notice even a single thread. Your schemes and machinations are both subtle and unavoidable."

Sebas stepped forward and then knelt down before the throne. "As I already knew, you refused to leave us. You are truly a great and compassionate leader."

His followers were nodding their heads.

Ainz noticed Albedo's face was completely red and she was gasping for breath. He thought he could hear her saying, 'he loves me, he loves me,' over and over again. It made him feel a bit unsettled, but now was not the time to deal with it.

From the smiles and looks of adoration it was clear they all believed he was the Lord Mortem of this world. And that their presence in this new realm was no accident. The NPCs' faith in him had been strengthened.

Ainz shifted his gaze back to Turner. "I have questions for you. To begin with tell me all you know about reward crystals, or as you call it, solnium."

XXX

Bloody Billy Turner's interrogation proved disappointing. It was not that it was difficult to get him to talk. He answered every question immediately and as fully as he could. He was pathetically eager to please the lord of death and shadow. The problem was he didn't know much that was useful. He knew nothing of solnium other than it was a power source and that a single crystal was worth more than a ton of high grade steel. The man knew a bit more about the local area and the settlements and dead zones within about a hundred miles. He kept maps in his office both current and from the old time. He knew Hannover was a city about two hundred miles south and that they had both mecha and solnium. His people stayed well out of their territory.

And that was about the limit of his useful information. He knew about guns and which of his men were the best shots and most trustworthy. Turner offered to serve in any way. Ainz did indeed have a task for him, one he was sure Turner would be able to handle.

" _Ainz-sama!"_ Shalltear's voice rang in his head. " _I've gathered all the survivors like you wanted! I haven't eaten any of them, I swear!"_

Ainz glanced at the mirror. Shalltear was floating in the air above a crowd of frightened and unarmed men. " _Well done Shalltear. Now herd them to the gate."_

" _Yes, Ainz-sama!"_

He saw her dive down slashing with her lance and screaming. The men got the message and took off running. When a few tried to get away she cut them off and threatened them back towards the mob. She managed to get all of them heading towards the docks. Watching it was very much like a single cowboy controlling a herd of cattle.

"Demiurge, I am giving all those men to you. Will they be enough to make scrolls?"

The demon nodded. "More than enough. May I have permission to use the surplus for experimentation?"

"They are yours now, do whatever you like with them. So long as we have a regular supply of scrolls."

"Understood."

"Have some of your subordinates take charge and transfer them to the seventh floor. The rest are to help round up all the humans in the city." He spoke to everyone in the throne room. "I want all of you to track down every human and gather them in front of their castle. Terrify them as much as you like, but use force only when necessary." He rose from his throne and moved down the steps to the gate.

"Albedo, accompany me and bring the human with you."

"Yes, Ainz-sama!" She gleefully trailed behind her lord and master. As an afterthought she grabbed Bloody Billy by the back of the neck and dragged him along.

"Sebas and Shizu, come with me as well."

"Understood, Ainz-sama."

"Acknowledged."

Ainz stepped through the gate and into Turnersport, and all Nazarick followed after him.

XXX

At the castle Turner led the way to his office and to the maps and a single file cabinet with reports. Ainz was surprised at the lack of books. He had assumed there would at least be some here. How could any government function without information? When Ainz asked Turner about the lack of books the man seemed equally surprised.

"What would I need books for?"

Ainz decided there was no point in explaining.

The maps were interesting. The current ones were all of the local area and hand drawn. There were multiple red dots that represented the dead zones. These were the locations of former cities and military bases that were now radioactive waste ground where nothing grew. Much fewer were the black dots that represented human communities. All of them, outside of Turnersport, had under a thousand people. Some had less than a hundred. The settlements were all self-sufficient, farming and herding for food and producing what they needed. There was effectively no trade, small scale raids and banditry were common. There was no road network between these settlements, and except for the ones on the coast or a river they were hard to reach.

The paved roads that did exist, ran exclusively between dead zones and so were of very little value. Turner and his men would visit the nearby settlements to collect tribute, the far off ones they didn't bother with.

Ainz would need to send people to each of these places to inform them they were now his property.

The maps from the old time were yellow with age. They represented the entire world as well as the continent of Vallesara and different sub regions. They showed nations and cities that were of course long gone. Most of the land surface of this world was concentrated in the two continents of Vallesara and Qazvin, with some island chains in between them. Interestingly, both continents were attached to one of the poles. Vallesara to this world's arctic and Qazvin to the antarctic. About two thirds of the continent was north of the equator, and about the same percentage of Qazvin was south of the equator.

Ainz found that he was located on the eastern seaboard about a quarter of the way down it, so he was in the northeastern corner of the continent. According to the old maps the eastern and western seaboards had been the most heavily populated areas. So it was logical they would also have the most dead zones. The interior of the continent had a large mountain range with an expansive desert to the eastern part of it. There was a major river west of the mountains that emptied into the southern sea. The distance from one coast to the other looked to be about four thousand miles.

So he had a massive continent to conquer and administer with huge distances, no infrastructure, an unknown number of radioactive and contaminated areas and absolutely no information about current populations outside the immediate area. Conquering this world might not be as difficult as organizing and actually running it.

Yggdrasil didn't have any issues like that, but it was a game. It only made sense being a real world dictator would be more daunting.

"This will be difficult," Ainz said as he looked over the maps. "Even with all the forces of Nazarick."

"That does not matter," Sebas said. "All that matters is that it is your will, Ainz-sama. Even if it were an impossible task we would follow you to the end."

"Our battle cry would be, Ainz-sama wills it!" Albedo said happily.

"Yes," Shizu said. "The level of difficulty is unimportant. We exist only to serve you."

"Thank you, I am grateful for your devotion."

"You do not need to thank us," Albedo said. "We are yours, we belong only to you."

He knew that was true. He hoped to be worthy of this unquestioning devotion.

Yuri Alpha eventually arrived and bowed down to him. "Ainz-sama. The humans of this city have been gathered together outside this castle."

"Good. Then I will introduce myself to them."


	9. Special Roles

There'd been many different kinds of castles in Yggdrasil. During his adventures Ainz had seen them carved into mountain peaks and the sides of volcanoes. He'd seen them made of white marble and obsidian. He'd seen one at the bottom of the ocean made of coral and the Brotherhood of Mjolnir had had a silver one floating permanently in a cloud. Back in Yggdrasil the building he was currently in would not have been given the exalted title of castle. At best it might have warranted fortress, and no guild would have ever used it as a base. It was only three stories tall and made entirely of brick. It had a couple watch towers and a small, enclosed courtyard. The interior was filled mostly with offices and storage rooms. There was not even a throne and the treasure vault was filled with paper money. It was very disappointing.

Ainz reminded himself that it was not fair to compare this place to the castles of Yggdrasil. Those had been created specifically to inspire awe, and in a VR environment the only real limits were the imaginations of the designers. In a real world with actual costs for building materials there were more serious limits to deal with. The best feature about the brick castle was that it had a wide balcony that overlooked the street. Albedo, Sebas, Shizu, Yuri and Turner came out onto the balcony with him.

Down below a small sea of frightened faces were staring up. Men, women, children, young, and old had been gathered. Many were huddled together, holding one another. They were silent, Ainz could clearly see they were terrified. In the air above them were Shalltear, Demiurge, Jealousy, Avarice, Wrath, along with some lesser devils and imps. On the ground were the remaining Floor Guardians and combat maids as well as assortment of golems, vampire brides, wraiths, and other monsters. The crowd packed in on itself to try and keep as far away from his servants as they could.

Mare had used some of his nature magic to darken the sky and raise a cold wind. At least Ainz assumed it was cold by the way so many people were shivering. Ainz couldn't feel the cold himself. Along with the mass of humans three corpses were laid out on the ground beneath the balcony. One of them was the old woman who had been the very first casualty.

Ainz nodded to Turner. "You know what to say to them."

"Yes, Lord Mortem." Bloody Billy stepped to the front of the balcony and shouted down to the crowd. "Listen up, all of you! I know everything has gone crazy. Well there's a reason for that! Lord Mortem has come here to begin the Long Night!" He glanced nervously at Albedo, she had removed her helmet but was still wearing armor. "A demon took me down into Hell, and I knelt before the Great Lord of Death, Shadow, and Night. We managed to fuck up the entire world, so he's come here to end it all. We all belong to him now, he is our lord and master. Do as he says, for there is no other choice!"

Ainz could actually hear sobs coming from the crowd, wails of despair. If they were Christians this would be the same as being told the Devil had come to rule you.

Turner bowed to him. "Did I do it as you wished, Lord Mortem?"

"Yes, you have my thanks. Hell flame."

A tiny spark of black fire slid from the tip of one finger and touched Bloody Billy Turner. There was a comical look of surprise on his face and just enough time for the beginning of a scream before the flames engulfed him. He was completely consumed, leaving behind not even a fragment of bone or ash. There were gasps from the people below.

Ainz levitated up into the air, to give them the clearest possible view of him.

"I am indeed Lord Mortem, come here to bring the entire world into the Long Night. The world that you knew has ended. I intend to remake it into something wondrous. I am the one and only source of authority and my will is absolute. You have seen I can bring death. Let me also show you I can bring life as well." He held up his staff. "Resurrect!"

The three mangled corpses glowed. The ruined bodied pulled themselves together. The wounds healed, the muscles and organs that were missing were replaced. Their skins turned from a lifeless shade to a bright and healthy pink. Eyes opened and all three rose to their feet and looked about in total confusion. The crowd surged back from them.

"Your old lives have ended," Ainz continued. "Everything that has been is gone now. What was exalted shall be cast down and what was despised shall be raised up. You will follow me, for I am the one and only path."

Apparently at this moment Albedo could no longer contain herself. She flew up to the space just beneath him. "That is right! He is the absolute Supreme Being who surpasses even the gods! Kneel down and worship him for he is the god of this world now!"

That was going further than Ainz wanted. Yes, he had taken on the role of Lord Mortem, but that had only been to make his transition into power easier. No matter how powerful his followers and magical items were, he had a finite number of them. He needed to have people willingly follow him. He did not have the forces to watch over everyone. If the people acknowledged him as a being from their own holy texts they would be much more willing to accept his authority. His thoughts had not gone beyond this. Playing Lord Mortem was just a convenient tool to establish himself. He certainly had no intention to actually be worshipped. Before he could admonish Albedo however others took up the call.

Fire burst from Demiurge's palms. "Kneel down and worship the Supreme One."

"Kneel down and worship his glorious presence!" Shalltear cried.

Cocytus slammed down the butt end of a lance causing the street around him to freeze. "Kneel down and worship." He then did so.

"Kneel down and worship for he is deserving of your total obedience," Sebas said from the balcony. He, Shizu, and Yuri then knelt down.

" **Kneel down and worship him**." Aura and Mare said together and then knelt down.

The monsters on the ground knelt down and placed their hands on their hearts. The crowd hesitated for just a bit, then a few began to kneel. More quickly followed their example, until every one of them was kneeling down.

The sight made him feel nervous, but if he suddenly told them not to worship him it would seem a strange contradiction to his claim of having absolute power.

He held his staff out. "I accept you as my servants. Obey my laws and work hard in my name, and all shall be well."

There were no cheers from the humans, they just looked on in obvious terror.

 _Well,_ Ainz thought. _That is good enough for now, it is better to be feared than loved after all._

XXX

Following the ceremony the humans were allowed to return to their homes or wherever else they wanted to go to. They were informed they would be told about the new laws soon. They were also told to rejoice at the beginning of their new lives. Ainz doubted any would, but he could hope. As the crowd was told to disperse he ordered that all Techs and Techs in training enter the castle. They gathered in the office Turner had used. Along with the Techs were the Floor Guardians and Sebas. There were twenty Techs and eight trainees who ranged in age from five to fourteen. The Techs were very easy to identify with the triangular brands on their cheeks. The trainees didn't have them, it was an initiation rite. The young kids stood close to the adults, who had protective hands on their shoulders.

All of them but one had their heads down and were clearly frightened. The exception was Tobi, who had been brought here from the Great Tomb. He was looking Ainz in the face, but licked his lips and appeared uncertain.

"Are… are you truly Lord Mortem?"

"I have many names," Ainz replied. It would probably be a good idea to maintain a little mystery.

"How can we be of service, master?"

"I have great plans for all of you." Ainz heard a whimper form one of the boys present. "There is no need to be afraid, your futures are very bright."

"Forgive me, master, but I don't believe not being afraid is even an option."

Ainz chuckled. "Well, I suppose from your point of view that may be the case. What matters is that you represent the most educated segment of the population. I happen to value knowledge, so to me you are all very precious assets. You will help me to reshape this world, and in return you will become very important men. You will be the most important of my human servants. You will no longer be the slaves, among your own kind you will be the masters."

That got a few of them to look up.

"You will not only help with building and repairing things, I will also use you as representatives of my authority. You will see that my laws are enforced and will have the power to bind and loose. You will be given plenty of food, good homes, respect, and real power. All I ask from you in return is loyalty."

"That is a very generous offer," Tobi said. He took a deep breath. "Could we ask for just one thing more?"

"You want more?" Albedo hissed.

Tobi flinched but kept his head up.

Ainz held up a hand and Albedo was silent. "Speak."

"Would you also allow us to marry and have families?"

Ainz thought about it and looked at the faces of these men and boys. As a human being, Satoru Suzuki would agree it was nothing more than a basic right. It was only natural that they should want the chance to find love and raise children. But he was not Satoru Suzuki, he was Ainz Ooal Gown and other things mattered more to him than human rights.

"Let me tell you a short story, Tobi. It is about an ancient kingdom called China. Now, this kingdom had an emperor who had many wives. It was important that his wives be kept safe, but even more important that their chastity be protected. For reasons of state, there could be no question of the paternity of their children. This was a problem, for the wives of the emperor were often among the most beautiful and desirable women in all the land. And because of his many duties and the sheer size of the harem, it was not at all unusual for some of them to feel lonely and neglected. Not surprisingly, even the most loyal of soldiers could be tempted in such a situation."

"Idiots," Albedo muttered. "A wife should be completely devoted even if she is alone much of the time."

Shalltear nodded. "A woman like that would be unworthy. If you have needs that is what other women and toys are for! Your womb belongs to your lord and master!"

"A soldier's loyalty should be absolute even when tempted." Cocytus said.

"Well you can only expect so much from weakling humans." Demiurge said.

"The point is," Ainz continued. "The emperor had a problem because even his finest guards could not be trusted. His solution was to have eunuchs guard and serve his wives, men who were not physically capable of causing an issue."

"I am not sure I like where this is going," Tobi said.

"As time passed, different emperors discovered the eunuchs to be particularly valuable. They did not have families or any other place in society. Their loyalty to the throne was total. This meant they could be entrusted with special tasks and with power because they had no competing loyalty and no place in the world outside the royal court. This is the role I have in mind for the Techs."

"You're going to castrate us?" Tobi placed both hands over his most precious possessions.

Demiurge nodded. "A very wise decision as always, Ainz-sama. Castration also tends to make males more docile. It will help to keep them focused on their work."

Albedo stepped forward and cracked her knuckles. "I will be more than happy to perform the procedure right now."

"Can I have the leftovers as keepsakes?" Shalltear asked.

The boys in the room all began to cry, the men were pale and starting to sweat.

"What? No, no, no, what I mean is that the Techs will be a separate part of society. They will not be allowed to have lovers or children or to work outside of my employ. They will be very well treated and given power, and in exchange they will owe everything to me. Do you not agree that is a very fair offer?"

Tobi paused a little too long before he replied.

"Is Ainz-sama not being more than generous, worthless human?" Albedo demanded.

"If you dislike these terms I am sure he can come up with something different." Demiurge promised.

Tobi gulped and nodded his head. "Yes, master, we thank you."

With that the humans were dismissed. Ainz brought out some of the maps.

"Demiurge, I want you to send an imp to each of these dead zones and have him explore the ruins there. It is unlikely, but there may be some valuables to be found. Also, I want to learn if they die from radiation."

"Yes, Ainz-sama."

"Aura, you will begin a survey of these lands. Find me any populations of humans that are not listed on these maps. Also, find me resources. Iron, copper, coal, gold, and precious gems have priority. Also, keep a special eye out for reward crystals. I doubt you will find any, but if you do they have the top priority."

"I won't let you down, Ainz-sama."

"Mare."

"Y- yes?"

"You are going to secure our food supplies. Find some vacant land and use your magic to raise crops there take some of your subordinate to harvest them. It is early fall in this part of the world. I want all our larders fully stocked before winter. Also, if you find fruit trees transplant some of them to the sixth floor, I want to see if we can raise our own crops there."

"Yes, I understand Ainz-sama."

"Cocytus, while Aura will explore the lands in the vicinity I want you to form an expedition and travel into the heart of this continent. You may choose your own companions, but you will also have to bring some humans with you as well. As with Aura's mission you will be looking for resources and for human settlements. If you find humans make contact with then and do your best to _peacefully_ bring them into my service. If they prove difficult use force, but use the bare minimum. Living humans are more valuable to me than corpses."

"As you will, Ainz-sama."

"Shalltear, while most of the other guardians are busy with different tasks you will be the one in charge of the defense of Nazarick. I doubt anyone would attack us, but do not slacken your vigilance."

"I will not fail you, Ainz-sama!"

"Albedo, travel to the human settlements marked on the maps. Explain the new reality to them and bring them into my service."

"I will make them grovel at your feet or I will redden the land with their blood!"

"Try to keep the carnage to a minimum, Albedo."

"Yes, my beloved Ainz-sama."

"Finally, Sebas, I have a special mission in mind for you and the Pleiades."


	10. A Month Later

**One Month Later…**

Demiurge had made his camp outside the blasted ruins of what had once been the city of Plymouth. He had learned to take special care of the dead zones of this world. Ainz-sama had explained to him about 'radiation.' It was a special type of poison that was released by the weapons that had destroyed the human cities. The poison could remain active for hundreds or even potentially thousands of years after being released. He had seen the results first hand from the imps sent to explore several of the dead zones.

The effects of the poison varied depending on the amount of time spent within an area. Anything above about six hours was immediately fatal. The imps who spent less time would return complaining of feeling ill. They would vomit, patches of hair would fall from their backs and chests, blood would leak out from their mouths, genitals, and rectums, and then they would die. He'd had one imp spend only five minutes at the very fringe of a dead zone. That one had also complained of feeling sick, but had managed to live a total of nine days.

Ainz-sama had also warned him that any items recovered from these areas were also likely to be poisoned. The word Ainz-sama used was 'radioactive.' Of course the Supreme One was correct, as always. Some gold and silver trinkets had been recovered by the imps and brought out. Demiurge had deliberately given them to a homunculus who was never sent anywhere near any of the dead zones. The creature died hairless, puking, and bleeding from every orifice within two weeks. Fortunately, Demiurge had discovered that the same purification spells that could make poisoned food or drink safe, could also remove the poisons from the items and make them usable. Shalltear, Lupisregina, Mare, and a handful of others could purify the items. Ainz-sama had told him that a chest constructed of lead could safely contain the poison. Demiurge had such a chest made and ordered all recovered goods placed inside until he could be purified.

The homunculus and imps had all been resurrected. He now used skeletons to search through the ruins. They were immune to poison and were the natural choice for the task. Ainz-sama had also raised a handful of death knights and liches to act as supervisors as they went through their laborious task. The lower level undead could work without rest, but their lack of intelligence made supervision necessary. Despite having a workforce of over a thousand, it was taking time. The dead zones were many square miles and there was nothing intact within them. The skeletons had to excavate and dig through tons of rubble in the hopes of locating anything useful. So far they had recovered small amounts of precious metals and stones. Ainz-sama was also very interested in any books or intact machinery, so far there had been no signs of any of these. But there were many, many dead zones, and he was very patient. If there was any treasure out there he would find it and deliver it to his master.

XXX

Aura was riding on the back of a black bear. She had no trouble communicating with the animals of this world, or bending them to her will. It was a little disappointing that there were no sentient races besides human. She would have loved to have recruited some treants or nymphs to the sixth floor. When she stopped and thought about it, it was sad to know that she and her brother were the only elves in the entire world now. There were enough dragonkin and heteromorphic beings to possibly continue their races, but after a few thousand years the elven race would be extinct. It was sad, but if such was Ainz-sama's will she could accept it.

She was travelling with some ogres, goblins, and a small pack of wolves and wild dogs. She'd found a few groups of hidden humans, usually consisting of a single family or a few families eking out a living hunting and farming. They were not very welcoming, but it was not hard to convince them to kneel and swear allegiance to 'Lord Mortem.' Their lives would not immediately change. But their names and locations would be marked down and when the time came that they could be useful they would be gathered up.

Aura had discovered sources of both iron and copper. None of the humans she had met had ever heard of reward crystals or solnium. She occasionally missed her brother, but traveling this new land and searching through it was fun. Aura was enjoying her work and hoped she could continue with it for a while, for as long as it was of use to Ainz-sama.

XXX

Mare watched as the dragonkin harvested the wheat and dug up the potatoes and turnips. He'd been pleased to learn that, outside of the dead zones, much of the land here was fertile. With seeds from Nazarick, Mare had planted crops in empty fields. It was already fall, and normally too late in the year to grow food, but druidic magic could force seeds to go through the growth cycle and ripen within just a few days. The sole drawback to raising crops using magic was that if you did it more than once you could leave the soil barren. Mare would never want to do that, so had gone from field to field, plowing up the soil, planting seeds, using magic to force quick growth, harvesting, and then moving on.

The larders would be filled to bursting. During his search he had also found apple and pear trees that could be transported to the Great Tomb and planted in the sixth floor. Mare was confident they would have a thriving orchard. The land here was interesting in that so much of it was wilderness alongside the dead zones where not even a single blade of grass would grow. He'd received a message from Demiurge warning him to stay well clear of those places. Demiurge had provided graphic details about what would happen if he entered any of them. Outside of the dead zones and the paved roads there were few signs of civilization.

To Mare this world was very much a blank slate that could be changed into anything.

XXX

Cocytus and his party had traveled over a hundred miles, and there were thousands more still to go. His responsibility was to explore and map out the interior of this continent. It was not exactly the thing a warrior would dream about, but it was certainly a challenge. It was certainly far better to face a vast and difficult task than to spend his time waiting for an attack that might never come. The party he led was made up of fifty members of various races, including a single human. He had monsters who could fly, track, use detection magic, burrow underground, and use many other special abilities. Cocytus wanted people who could handle any situation.

In a sense, he and his group were not separated from Ainz-sama or the Great Tomb of Nazarick. No matter the distance he could always Message Ainz-sama or Shalltear and request a gate be opened to them. On the other hand, Cocytus absolutely did not want to rely on any others for help. Ainz-sama had given him this task and granted him carte blanche to handle it however he saw fit. To constantly need help from the guild would surely be seen as a sign of weakness. Cocytus would not disgrace himself in Ainz-sama's eyes by ever appearing feeble.

Every week Cocytus reported into Ainz-sama with Message, to inform him of his progress. Otherwise he and his party were completely on their own out in the wilderness.

"Hush, my sweet baby. Mommy is here."

Cocytus glanced to where Nigredo was cradling a doll in her arms. So long as she had the doll in her possession, Nigredo was completely rational. (Excepting the fact she believed the doll to be her baby.) He had asked her to join him as her ability was geared toward information gathering and locating things. For this mission her skills were an absolute must.

Two hundred yards away he saw the Tech by the name of Daryl. He was sitting in the grass, hand drawing a map to illustrate their current location. The human tended to keep to himself and had some difficulty socializing with the other members of the party. Cocytus noted that Daryl seemed to make a special effort to stay as far away from Nigredo as possible. Cocytus didn't understand the reason for that. She was likely the kindest and gentlest person in the entire group. Cocytus had heard that some humans found her lack of skin on her face off-putting, but he didn't believe that could be the reason for the human's discomfort. Well, Daryl was good at his task of drawing maps and keeping records of the journey. That was what mattered.

"Oh? Are you hungry? Mommy will-"

Nigredo suddenly cut off and looked up. She stared out towards the west.

"Is something the matter?" Cocytus asked.

"I think I've found something." She answered and began rocking the doll in her arms again.

XXX

As soon as Albedo landed in the tiny village of Peabody the residents all rushed out to kneel down before her and show proper respect. When she'd first come they'd all either attacked her or tried to run away. Mindful of her beloved's command to keep any bloodshed to a 'minimum' she'd held back and only slaughtered about a third of them. She'd then informed the survivors that they were now the property of Lord Mortem. The fools had actually been upset by that wonderful news. She'd had no choice but to disembowel a couple idiots to finally make it clear the sort of joy they should feel at their new lives and purpose. They lived only to serve Lord Mortem.

Once things had finally calmed down she'd been surprised to learn that one of the villagers owned a religious text. The man had offered it to her as a gift. Curious, she had accepted it. When she'd returned home she'd planned to have Shizu translate it. Unfortunately, none the Pleiades were available. Albedo had instead gone to the human city of Ainzport and had Tobi do it. She had discovered some interesting things. One being Lord Mortem had ninety-nine wives! Proof that Ainz-sama would want to have a harem! Another being that the Long Night which her beloved was to establish would one day be ended by a creature known as Salutem.

'Salutem shall come down from the heavens and defeat Lord Mortem. The evil one shall be banished from the earth and time will begin again. The Long Night shall end and the sun will once more be seen. The world shall be purified and renewed.'

This Salutem had to be a player character. The PCs had been the enemies not only of Momonga-sama, but of all the Supreme Beings who had created Ainz Ooal Gown. Only one of those despicable PCs could hope to defeat her lord and master. Since the holy text was right about Lord Mortem it was only logical to believe it had to just as accurate regarding this Salutem. As leader of the floor guardians, it was Albedo's responsibility to do not only what was commanded of her, but to do whatever would keep her darling safe. She would search out this hidden threat and eliminate him before he could challenge Ainz-sama.

Almost as interesting as what had been written there was what was missing. The book had included many prayers and benedictions devoted to the different gods of this world. There were prayers specifically to request the birth of a healthy child or a good harvest or a safe journey. There were specific words for requesting a blessing from the storm god or god or war or god of love.

But there was not one single line about praying to or beseeching the aid of Lord Mortem! How incredibly insulting! Whatever name he used, Ainz-sama was the most powerful being in existence! The bringer of life and death! The leader of the forty one Supreme Beings who were all greater than the gods! The situation was absolutely intolerable and Albedo was determined to fix it.

As the villagers knelt before her she spoke.

"Let us pray."

As one they spoke the words of the prayer she had taught them. Albedo would instruct them and others about additional prayers as well as rituals meant to honor and praise Lord Mortem. She was also working on a brand new holy text that would be exclusively about Lord Mortem. Albedo could not wait until the day she could kneel before Ainz-sama and reveal the new religion she had created for him. Knowing he was finally being worshipped like a proper god he would be pleased beyond all measure. Maybe enough that he would take her as the first of his ninety-nine wives!

XXX

In the city of Hannover there was a new and very popular restaurant called Sebastian's. It had introduced a completely unique concept, the maid café. All the waitresses dressed like maids and referred to their customers as 'master.' It had been an instant success as men from all over the city flocked to it to be served by the beautiful women who worked there. They were all foreigners who had only recently arrived, but that only added an exotic element to the establishment.

The owner was a middle aged man with a neatly trimmed beard who was always wearing a dark suit.

XXX

After the restaurant was closed for the evening Sebas and the Pleiades headed out to a special meeting. This was their real work.


	11. Strength From Unity

Sebas and the Pleiades combat maids were walking through the streets of the city of Hannover. Sebas was in his usual black suit and each of the maids were in their maid dresses. Though it was evening, the streets were as clear and well-lit as in daytime. Even after a month's time, the use of electricity was still wondrous. Yet every street was paved with poles with lights atop them. Every single building had access to power, and many windows were clearly lit. That something so amazing could at the same time be so common spoke of how extraordinary this city was. The sheer size of Hannover was also impressive, almost a quarter of a million humans lived here. In Yggdrasil only the great city of Trondheim had been larger. Little wonder that Ainz-sama had sent them here to act as spies. Their duty was to learn everything they possibly could about these humans and, if at all possible, to acquire at least one reward crystal.

Ainz-sama had warned him to be cautious and patient. There was no time table for their mission, if they could succeed it would not matter to Ainz-sama how long it took. As soon as they arrived the priority was to be accepted by the human community and to appear to be ordinary humans themselves. Sebas understood that in order to blend in their use of magic would have to be very selective. Likewise killing would draw unwanted attention. One of the major assets they had available was the physical beauty and attractiveness of the maids. Sebas could recall once hearing a conversation between Peroroncino-sama and Tabula Smaragdina-sama where they'd discussed their mutual love of maid cafés. Anything that appealed to two Supreme Beings was guaranteed to enthrall ordinary humans. Sebas had asked Ainz-sama about them and received a thorough education. He made the business arrangements and greeted people at the door, Yuri baked the cakes and other sweets, and the rest of the maids served the customers. The café was wildly popular and the girls were minor celebrities. It was because of this attention they had received tonight's invitation, which was a great opportunity to advance their mission.

Despite this initial success, things had not gone perfectly. As they walked down the street a group of men in work clothes passed them. They openly stared at the maids and made a variety of lewd suggestions. One of them put two fingers to his mouth and gave a long whistle, in this society it meant he wanted to bed one or more of the women. Sebas sent the men a hard look, he believed in proper behavior and honor, and found their actions detestable. Neither he nor any of the maids replied.

Once the men were out of earshot, Narberal muttered angrily. "Disgusting worms! I'd like nothing better than to turn them to ashes!"

"I know," Lupusregina sighed. "It's disgusting having to spend all day serving them and pretending to like them."

"And no matter how many times I tell them no they keep asking me to meet them outside the café!" Naberal growled. "As though any of them could be worthy of my time!"

"You have the wrong attitude," Solution told them. A pair of teenage boys whistled. Solution winked and blew them a kiss. Both boys began to jump up and down. "Humans can be entertaining, even if you're not dissolving them."

"Why do you encourage them?" Narberal demanded.

"It's fun. Besides, it makes it easier to get them alone."

"You know the rules while we are on this mission," Yuri chided.

"I know," Solution answered with a pout. "No magic, no releasing our true forms, no killing, and no hurting the humans. Still, we're supposed to be sweet and charming aren't we?"

"That's so," Yuri nodded. "But keep in mind the reason for that. It's to maintain our cover and allow us easier access to spy. It is not to give you an opportunity to eat someone."

"The work would be much easier if you would let us eat just one person," Entoma complained. "Would anyone miss the homeless guy who works the corner down the street?"

"No killing," Yuri said with a wag of her finger.

"What if he just dies on his own? Could we eat him then?"

"No."

"What about just one arm? Would anyone even notice?"

"No," Yuri insisted. "A human corpse with a limb torn off would draw unneeded attention."

"But I hate having to live off human food! It's so bland!"

"Consider it a sacrifice for the Supreme One."

"I don't mind eating Yuri-nee's cooking." Shizu said in a monotone.

"That doesn't count," Entoma said. "You like sweet things."

"We will do whatever is necessary to complete the mission," Sebas declared. "Regardless of the difficulties."

This statement brought the conversation to an end. As they continued to walk cars flowed past them travelling in both directions. More than a few flashed their lights or honked their horns as they went by. Automobiles were another wonder of this world. They used the same electricity that turned night into day, and they did not belong solely to the military and those in power. Many ordinary people owned them, indeed, Sebas had made more than enough money to be able to purchase one if he wished. The idea of traveling about in an iron and glass carriage did not particularly appeal to him. But they were viewed as status symbols here, perhaps purchasing one would help him to blend in?

It was about a two mile walk from their place of work and residence to their destination. There was a mansion that took up a city block. The building was three stories and made of white

marble. There were statues and carvings on the walls, mostly depicting soldiers and their fighting vehicles. On a flag pole on the roof was a flag with seven stars and the inscription 'Strength From Unity.' The building was enclosed by a ten foot high black iron fence, topped with razor wire. There were dozens of soldiers patrolling the perimeter and the inner grounds. On either side of the main gate was an eight foot tall personal mecha. When they had originally captured the Evil Witch the sailors had mistaken Cocytus for one of these. Sebas could understand why. They were constructed of solid metal and about five feet wide. Each one held a massive weapon in its hands that looked like a cross between a machine gun and a cannon. He noticed that Shizu was giving the mecha and their firearms special interest.

"Does everyone have their invitation?" Sebas asked.

All the maids nodded and produced the slips of paper.

"Now remember, I want all of you to blend in and talk to the people inside. The goal is to make useful contacts and gain information about this city. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want everyone to remain alive." He looked directly at Solution. "No disintegrations."

She bowed her head. "As you wish."

Walking up to the gate they handed their invitations over to a guard and were passed through.

XXX

Inside the main ball room a band played and couples danced. There were tables loaded down with food as well as an open bar. The air was thick with smoke and conversation. Sebas noted that women outnumbered the men by at least two to one. All of them were wore revealing dresses and high heels, and all of them were youthful and very attractive. By comparison, the men ran the gambit in both looks and age, nearly all of them wore a uniform of one sort or another. In his black suit Sebas stood out, a couple other guests assumed he was a waiter and asked him to get them some more drinks.

Each of the maids split off and were soon surrounded by admirers. Even in a room filled with beauties they stood out, and their maid outfits only made them that much more memorable. As Sebas went through the crowd he picked up snatches of their conversations with the gentlemen present.

XXX

"Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?"

"I hear it all the time," Narberal replied. "And before you ask, no I won't go out with you, and no I won't do anything for money."

XXX

"Would anyone here like to get inside of me and have me make them scream for days?" Solution asked.

The five men with her all shouted they would and immediately began shoving one another.

XXX

"I just love a man with juicy arms."

"Juicy?"

"I mean thick," Entoma corrected herself.

XXX

"Could you please tell me about your mecha?" Shizu asked in her regular monotone. "Weapons turn me on."

XXX

From other groups he heard talk about the upcoming war. There didn't seem to be any fear, certainly no thought the war would be difficult of they might lose. The men in uniform spoke of war as if it were a sporting event. They talked about glory and easy victory. No one bothered to hide the fact it was coming. Sebas had seen enough here to understand their confidence. Given their resources and numbers they likely would win without much difficulty. All this strength and confidence only made his work that much more important.

He soon spotted the host of the party and the person who had invited him and the combat maids here. He was a tall, imposing figure with short cropped blond hair. Defense Minister Kerensky had on a beautifully tailored field gray uniform that was drowning in gold thread and medals. Kerensky saw him and waved him over. The Defense Minister had a jovial smile and a friendly demeanor, he was the second most important man in the Western Alliance and enjoyed demonstrating his power and wealth. Standing next to him was a man in a black uniform without gold thread or medals. He was short, barely five feet, with glasses and a tiny, scraggly mustache. Whereas Kerensky delighted in playing the host and welcoming his guests, this other man seemed to radiate an aura of hostility and unpleasantness.

"Mr. Tian," Kerensky said with a wide smile. "I'm so glad you and your lovely ladies could join us here tonight."

Sebas offered a bow. "On the contrary, it is I who must thank you for your invitation. It is a great honor, Defense Minister."

"Everyone just calls me Kerensky." He turned to the man standing next to him. "Let me introduce you to Heinrich Heiphall, Commander of Police and Minister of Internal Security. You're lucky, most foreigners who meet him for the first time don't get to do it under such pleasant circumstances." Kerensky laughed while Heinrich remained stoic.

Sebas bowed to the other man. "A great pleasure to meet you Commander Heiphall. I have heard much about you."

"All of it good I'm sure," Heinrich said with the tiniest of sneers.

 _Not even slightly_ , Sebas thought. Whereas Kerensky was responsible for the military, Heiphall was in charge of the regular and secret police. The regular police enforced the laws and investigated crimes. The secret police dealt with any threats to the regime and were said to spy on everyone. The secret police arrested people only at night. If they were very lucky they were returned home with bruises and a few broken bones after an interrogation. The unlucky ones simply vanished and were never heard from again. The secret police never needed anything more than suspicion to come for you. Heiphall was the last person he had wanted to meet tonight.

"You are respected and feared," Sebas said. "For a person in authority this is always a good thing."

"Clever answer. Do you know I have a file on you and all your lady friends?"

Sebas gave no sign the news worried him. "I wouldn't think my employees and I warrant such attention. We only wish to start new lives here in this great city."

"The police know everything and see everything. Nothing escapes our notice." Sebas knew that was a lie. If they were really that omniscient they'd have already come for him and the Pleiades. "You and your maids are a very unusual case. We get our share of immigrants of course, we are the light of the world after all. But most of them either work the mines or join the military, or find a husband if they are female. It's most unusual for them to prosper as you have."

"We have worked very hard to achieve what success we have had. I am very grateful that we have been welcomed and allowed to prosper."

"Having such beautiful ladies helped too, I bet." Kerensky added.

"They are not only beautiful," Sebas said. "But hard working as well. All we want is to become productive members of this great country. We hope to become citizens one day."

"That is possible for the women," Heinrich said. "They only need to marry a citizen and give birth to at least one healthy child. For men citizenship requires you complete the standard ten years' service in the military. Do you intend to volunteer?"

"I am a businessman, not a soldier."

"What you and you women are is different, and I don't like things that are different."

"This is a party. You don't need to be interrogating people all the time, Heinrich." Kerensky said giving him a slight nudge and turning to Sebas. "You must forgive him, he doesn't know how to leave his work."

"I don't apologize for taking my duties seriously. There are threats everywhere."

"And I and the whole Revolutionary Council thank you for it, but I'm sure we're safe from a restaurant owner and his lovely staff."

"You can never know who is dangerous," Heinrich said flatly.

 _Very true,_ Sebas thought. Kerensky's attention was diverted and Sebas noticed he was looking in the direction where Solution was holding court. It seemed she was the Defense Minister's type. On the outside at least.

"Her name is Solution, would you like an introduction, Defense Minister?"

"I think that would be delightful."

As they headed off Heiphall remained where he was, watching.

XXX

Solution spent much of the evening dancing with Kerensky. The other maids wandered through the ballroom conversing with different people. Sebas left to use the bathroom. Most of the mansion's first floor was open to the guests, armed guards stood at both stairwells to prevent anyone from wandering upstairs. Sebas slipped into a small anteroom that was empty, opened a window, and went outside. He was careful not to draw the attention of any of the patrols going over the grounds. Sebas leapt up and easily landed on the roof. There were no soldiers there. He had no trouble finding and unlocked third story window and sliding inside unnoticed.

All the servants were downstairs attending to guests, so he was able to conduct a swift search unimpaired. He found what he was looking for down the main hall next to the master bedroom; the Defense Minister's private office. The door to it was not even locked. Kerensky obviously thought his home much more secure than it actually was. Being a dragonoid Sebas could see perfectly well in the dark and did not bother turning on the light. The desk was covered in reports and military dispatches. They gave the current locations and troop levels of the military. Sebas looked them over and committed them to memory. He did not have a photographic memory like Shizu's, but he could call back important information.

There was one very important matter he hoped to learn about. He could not afford to be absent from the part for too long. Sebas hurried through the desk drawers and then through file cabinets that were also in the office. In the second one he found a thick file with the information he was searching for. He took it out and went though it sheet by sheet. Bringing these papers back to Ainz-sama would definitely please him, but would also possibly expose their mission here. Sebas took the locations listed and burned those into his thoughts before returning the file.

Sebas exited the room, hurried to one of the windows and leapt down. He was able to get back inside and return to the ballroom without anyone noticing the absence.

XXX

Metal rails led out of the mine entrance. About every hour or so an iron cart would be pushed out, filled with iron ore. At the end of the rails the cart would be tipped over and all the rocks would be dumped out. The person who had brought the cart out of the mine would slowly begin taking it back inside. Meanwhile, some workers would haul up the ore and toss it into a horse drawn wagon. When they had collected all the ore they would take the wagon down the hillside to a brick building with a massive chimney that spewed out black smoke. All around the building were six rickety wooden lodges that housed all the workers. Surrounding all the buildings, and the hill itself, was a wooden stockade with six watch towers above them. In each tower were a pair of guards and a machine gun. On the other side of this fence were four brick and metal buildings where the soldiers were all garrisoned. There were also two trucks parked outside. In front of the main building was a flagpole, in the breeze was a flag depicting seven stars and the words, 'Strength From Unity.'

The soldiers not currently on duty were tossing a ball around and talking to one another.

"A mine and foundry using forced labor," Cocytus said. He and Nigredo were scouting them from the nearby wood.

She nodded. "The miners don't seem to be here by choice." In her arms she gently cradled her doll. "What do you wish to do?"

"My orders are to bring all the humans we meet into the service of Ainz-sama. That is what I intend." He began to walk towards the settlement.

"Didn't Ainz-sama also wish you to do this with as little violence as possible?"

Cocytus halted and turned back to her. "He did."

"The humans might not react well to seeing you suddenly appear. Maybe it would be better to let Daryl meet with them first."

Cocytus thought about it for a moment. He'd been present when they captured the Evil Witch. The humans had started shooting at him for no real reason. They tended to spook easily.

"All right, I suppose we can try that."


	12. Tea And Conversation

"The humans have started to make their own hymns!" Albedos said excitedly. "They have asked permission to build idols in his image! It's so wonderful! At first many of the humans didn't believe Lord Mortem even existed, or else they were terrified to even speak his name, never mind offer him worship. Now they've started to come around, they are becoming true followers!"

"That is wonderful," a human girl dressed in the white and red clothing of a Japanese Miko said. "I can see how genuinely pleased you are." She sipped some tea.

Albedo nodded and had a bite of a cookie. "I am constructing the holy book. Some of the humans have told me legends and stories about Lord Mortem and I am deciding what will be accepted as actual scripture and what shall be heresy. You can't accept everything you know, you must pick and choose what makes his legend more majestic."

"I see. And does Momonga-sama-"

"Ainz-sama!" Albedo corrected. "He has taken that name, he should only be referred to as either Ainz-sama or as Lord Mortem."

"Ah, yes, of course, forgive me sister, old habits are hard to shed."

"I know you meant no offense, but as our Supreme Lord has declared his intent we must be diligent and obey it in all ways!"

"Naturally." Albedo's sister replied. She took another sip of tea.

Rubedo was a very beautiful young woman who would appear to be in her early twenties. There was a family resemblance between the two, though Rubedo's eyes were a light brown and her pupils were round. And naturally, she did not have wings or horns, and her figure was less voluptuous than her sister's.

The two sisters were sharing tea and cookies, but were not sharing the same space. Albedo was seated at a table in her own quarters. Rubedo was in the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary of the Eighth Floor. The Eighth Floor was forbidden to all guardians, save for Victim. While Rubedo was the Area Guardian of the Sanctuary and bound to it. She also had full control of all the teleportation gates within the Great Tomb and could control the movement between the floors of all those without a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was within her power to grant or deny the free movement of others, but she herself was a prisoner.

Not that Rubedo ever complained.

"Tell me, sister, does Ainz-sama have any input into all of this? The hymns, the religious text, the idols, or the Great Temple?"

Albedo shook her head. "A god should not have to be bothered with such trivial matters. It is a sign of his followers' devotion that they should build the religion in his honor."

"What happens if what you create displeases him?"

"Then he will smite me and his followers and start over again." Albedo said it without any hint of hesitation or concern.

Rubedo did not need to ask if Albedo would be fine with that. She understood that her sister, and every other denizen of the Great Tomb, would happily die if it were Momonga's will. Everyone but her. For she was the exception in many, many ways. She had been born different from all the others, and stood apart from them in ways they could never understand.

Rubedo set her cup down in its saucer and smiled at her sister. "You truly believe it, don't you?"

"Believe what?"

"That Momon-, oops, that Ainz-sama brought all of us here on purpose, that it was part of some great plan of his. You truly believe that he has been to this world before, and been known here as Lord Mortem before. That everything that has transpired has been according to his will."

Albedo's eyes widened and she gave a loud gasp. "Of course! What other possibility is there? Ainz-sama was the Guildmaster and leader of the Forty-One Supreme Beings who each were greater than any god! His will is absolute! He is infallible and perfect! To question that is to deny the glory of our own creators!"

 _Your creators_ , she thought. "Yet his actions would seem to contradict that statement. Why did he not immediately declare we were in a new world and state what our mission was to be? Why did he need to spend so much time searching and learning about our new surroundings if he is omniscient? Why did he never mention the name Lord Mortem until a native of this world did?"

Albedo's mouth opened and closed silently for a moment. She then suddenly brought a fist down, smashing her table to kindling, shattering all the pieces of the tea set and spilling tea and cookies all across the floor. "Ainz-sama acts in mysterious ways! It is not our place to try and understand his actions, it is simply our duty to obey him in all things! Yes, he has lied to us and deceived us. As a parent will lie to and deceive a child when it is necessary. He owes us absolutely nothing! It is our great duty and honor to interpret his will, for I am sure his wisdom and knowledge are far beyond what we can comprehend!"

Rubedo nodded her head and sipped some more tea. "Yes, that must be true, because the only other possibility would be that he is not all knowing or all powerful. And that would _never_ under _any_ circumstances be the case. I'm sorry if my silly questions upset you. You know how much I enjoy discussing theoretical issues that have no connection to reality."

"Some things should never be mentioned, even as a theory."

"Like the fact the world circles the sun?"

Albedo raised both eyebrows. "What do you mean? The sun is the daughter of the god Mundilferi and is chased across the sky by the great wolf Sköll each day. Everyone knows that."

"Of course we do. So have you heard anything from Nigredo?"

The two sisters spoke for a little while about their eldest sister and about the Pleiades and some of the other residents of the tomb. Albedo's mood had been soured and she brought their weekly chat to an earlier end than usual.

"Sister," Albedo said. "I know you are as loyal as the rest of us, and that your odd statements are simply part of your nature. I can accept that, just as I accept Eclair Ecleir Eicler is a traitor. I do not blame him, as the Supreme Beings wrote him that way. But there are limits to the things you can say, the things you can suggest. I will not mention anything from our conversation to Ainz-sama, this time. But I make no promises for the future."

"Oh, that's all right sister. Since he knows all I am sure he knows every word I've spoken as well as what is within my heart. And since he hasn't smited me he is fine with it. Don't you agree?"

Albedo's lips twisted. "Just be more careful from now on." Her image vanished.

Rubedo stood up and waved a hand. The table, single chair, tea, cookies, and porcelain all faded out of existence. All that remained was a magical portal that hovered in the air before her without any image. A slight breeze caused the cherry blossoms to fall. She did not notice any more. On the Eighth Floor nothing ever changed, the trees were always in bloom and the blossoms were always drifting on the wind. Rubedo was blind to their beauty, to her they were the walls and bars of her prison. She was immortal, beautiful, a level one hundred NPC who could cast tenth tier magic… and she could not take one step outside the sanctuary.

"Such a situation could drive a person mad."

She waved a hand and an image formed in the portal. It was the native human called Tobi. He was seated at his desk within his office in the city of Ainzport. He had no idea he was being watched and was hunched over scribbling onto a piece of paper. He didn't know she existed, but he would.

Rubedo smiled at him. "Set the world on fire."


	13. True Words

Tobi was in his office within the castle of Ainzport. He actually had the exact same office that Bloody Billy Turner had occupied. Just a few months ago the only way a Tech like him would have ever stepped foot here was if the wiring or plumbing needed to be fixed. Now he had the official title of governor and absolute authority to rule the city in Lord Mortem's name. In a sense, he had more real authority than even Bloody Billy had enjoyed. Just like Bloody Billy, Tobi could have anyone in this city killed without question. He could order the whole population to go out into the street and do a dance. And unlike the previous owner of this office he did not have to fear assassination. He was Lord Mortem's servant. No one would dare try to hurt him. And if anyone did, the five death knights that were under his command would likely dissuade them.

In another sense though, Tobi was as much a slave as he'd been serving on the Evil Witch. Sure, he had greater responsibilities and prestige, but he was still property. Ainz had been much more polite about it than Turner and his bunch ever had, but the message had been clear. Tobi was his slave and was to do as he was told. He wasn't sure whether or not the fact everyone was now Lord Mortem made things better or worse. Well, being a Tech he'd never known anything different, so at least it was easier for him to adjust. Sort of. Everything was changing and he had no idea what the end result would be.

Tobi looked at the schematics and reports and inventory lists that covered his desk. All the resources of the Delta were being inventoried, with the scattered groups of people included as another resource along with iron, food, rubber and everything else. Among the many plans on his desk were designs of factories, new wind mills, solar plants, vastly expanded docks, a rail line, and eventually even an airport. The long term plan was to expand Ainzport into a vast city with wide, perfectly straight streets with sewers and enough power output to provide electricity for _every single home_. Ainz had actually mentioned building a city for millions. Tobi shook his head.

"Are there that many people on the entire world?" Even if there were they would be in isolated pockets all over the continent. Did he plan to force all of them to migrate here? Well… if he wanted to Tobi couldn't deny it was possible. Ainz had the power to do anything.

The militia had been disbanded and all its surviving members taken away as prisoners. Tobi didn't know, and didn't want to know, what their fate was. He didn't think it would be pleasant. The remaining population had been disarmed and all firearms were now a state monopoly. Private ownership of any type of gun was forbidden and punishable by death. Humans were no longer to act as soldiers, even the small police force he had was armed only with wooden clubs. The five death knights were considered more than enough to maintain order and protect the city. People were allowed to work and own their businesses as before, though when the new factories were completed a certain percentage of the population would have to work in them. If enough people didn't choose to volunteer for them, workers would be conscripted. The factories would produce the steel, copper wire, pipes, tools, and other materials needed to create this amazing new city.

Tobi shuffled through the papers. He had a drawing for a building that would stand over a thousand feet tall and be covered in steel and sheets of glass. Ainz had called it a 'skyscraper' and would provide the room for hundreds of offices for all sorts of businesses. What these businesses would be and who would run them Ainz had no made clear. If Lord Mortem had ordered him and the other Techs to design a spaceship to travel the stars it would not have been more incredible than this building. Tobi could believe that the city they were building would have fit into the Golden Age, but how was it going to work in a world where most people lived in populations of less than a hundred? What were all of them supposed to do? Live in giant glass buildings and work in the factories?

Tobi had the sense that Lord Mortem was trying to recreate the world he had come from. He reminded of the story of the blind rabbit who had mistaken a wolves' den for her warren and insisted it was her home, despite all the things she discovered were different. The story didn't end well for the rabbit.

Tobi shuffled over to the window and looked out at the space that had once been the military camp. The barracks and other structures had long since been leveled. Now it was a vast construction site. Hundreds of skeletons labored endlessly, moving and laying and breaking blocks of stone. It would eventually be the Great Temple and would tower over the castle he stood in. Tobi had no idea what it would end up looking like. Albedo had claimed the property and taken personal charge of the construction. He wondered what the religion and the religious service would be like. How exactly do you worship the god of death, night, and shadow? The god who is supposed to bring an end to everything? The god who had come down among them and who ruled them completely?

 _Assuming he is a god_ , Tobi thought.

He turned away from the window and drew the curtains. That was a very, very dangerous thought to have, and one he would never dare to speak out loud. Tobi was the only human who had ever stepped inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick and been allowed to leave. No, wait, that wasn't true. Bloody Billy had been allowed to come back here, he just hadn't lived very long. Alone among all humans Tobi had gotten to see the truth of Nazarick and not suffered for it. He had been warned to never reveal its true location, but had been given no other prohibitions. He was free to talk about the lessons he'd given to the maids and about the questions Ainz had asked him or about all the different races who lived there.

But he hadn't spoken a single word about any of it. When Lord Mortem had shown up with him in tow everyone had simply accepted that he'd been chosen by the god as a servant and left it at that. A few of his friends had asked him and he had simply refused to talk about it. No one pressed him. Gods were mysterious and terrifying and people were wary of trespassing into anything that touched too closely.

The reason Tobi never spoke of his experience was that he did not believe Lord Mortem was a god. Oh, he was a being of great power and knowledge! He was definitely something more than human. A being to be feared and obeyed, no question! But a god? For all his incredible powers, Ainz had simply been too ignorant of too many things for Tobi to believe it. What god required language lessons? Yet every being in the Great Tomb, some as terrifying and seemingly powerful as Ainz himself, accepted it. Yet, NONE OF THEM had ever mentioned the name Lord Mortem, or talked of the Long Night. They had been completely ignorant of the world, more than a few of them had refused to believe humans were the only sentient species. Lord Mortem hadn't even called himself that, he'd been Momonga and then Ainz. He had only taken the name when it had been convenient, and none of his plans appeared to have anything to do with bringing an end to the world. (Not that Tobi complained.)

Tobi could not say for sure what Ainz was. A demon? An alien? A demi-god perhaps? But a god as Tobi understood the concept? No, and he most certainly was not the Lord Mortem from scripture. Tobi could imagine going back to primitive times with a mecha. How else would savages see him except as a god? Wouldn't that be analogous to the current situation?

But did it matter? Whatever he truly was Ainz had the power to make his wishes reality. And he had followers with absolute faith in him. Tobi shuddered just at the thought of telling Albedo or Shalltear or any of the others that Ainz was not divine. To even suggest it to any of those fanatics was suicidal.

The problem was Tobi saw Ainz as a flawed leader. One with immense power, but not necessarily with any wisdom or even a clear agenda. He had no idea if the future Ainz had in mind was a good one or not. Ainz intended to change the entire world. Who wouldn't be terrified by that?

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

"Sir," his secretary said. "Franklin is here."

"Oh, okay, send him in." He needed to not worry about things he had no control over and instead focus on problems he could actually fix.

XXX

Darryl stood very still and kept both his hands up. He was facing six men, all with rifles pointed at him. One had hurried into the main building to get their leader. It was only a minute or so before a dozen soldiers came back out. All of them wore the same faded grey uniform and worn boots. One though had a stiff collar stitched on with two metal stars. The others deferred to him and kept a couple steps behind him. The leader came to a halt ten feet in front of Darryl. He did not order any of his men to lower their weapons.

"I'm Captain Hutchinson, commander of this camp. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Darryl and I was just traveling when I saw your place. I was hoping to work and maybe earn some food."

"Wandering from where exactly? There aren't any settlements nearby."

"Well I'm originally from Turnersport, but I sort of had to leave because of a misunderstanding with a young woman and her older brother." Darryl gave a sheepish grin. Some of the onlookers chuckled, but the captain didn't appear amused.

"Turnersport is a long ways from here."

Darryl shrugged. "Her brother likes knives, a lot." This produced a few laughs.

"You're a Tech," the captain said without any hint of amusement. The scar on Daryl's cheek made it obvious. "If a Tech touched my sister I'd cut your balls off. Your sort shouldn't even talk to a woman."

"I definitely learned my lesson, sir. Can I maybe put my hands down, now?"

The captain slowly rubbed his chin. "You ever work on a car or a metal press?"

"I've handled cars, boat engines, planes, and even a couple scout mecha. I can fix anything you put in front of me, sir."

"I already have one Tech, and he's pretty worthless. You any better?"

"Absolutely, sir! I'm a hard worker."

"Whore's piss you are. You're a Tech, all your kind are lazy and worthless." He spat on the ground. "But maybe with two of you I can keep everything running. Work hard and mind your manners or you'll get a beating. And don't talk to any of the prisoners, especially the women. Understand me, Tech?"

"Yes, sir! I sure do!"

The captain nodded to one of the soldiers. "Take him to wherever Robert is and get him to work. Welcome to reeducation camp seventeen."

XXX

Franklin was several years older than Tobi and a good friend. All the Techs had lived together at the School and knew each other well. They'd been their own little community because no one else had wanted anything to do with them. You didn't necessarily like every other Tech you were forced to live and work with, but you learned to get along. Tobi had always liked Franklin, though. Frank had a sense of humor and loved inventing wild stories about the guards when there was no one listening. That could get you into trouble, and Frank had gotten more beatings than probably anyone else, but he never lost his sense of humor or his mouth. Tobi wanted to help him.

"How do you like having your own apartment?" Tobi asked as his friend came in.

"Well it beats sleeping four to a room. It's almost weird though having so much space all to myself.

"Tell me about it, things have sure changed." He motioned for his friend to have a seat.

"Yep, I always figured it would take the end of the world for us to be treated like people. Turns out I was right."

"I don't think the world's ending yet, just changing."

"Well so long as it's changing for the better I'm happy with it. You know I make offerings to him every week?"

Tobi paused and made an effort not to show his discomfort. "I heard people are starting to do that, I didn't know you were doing it too."

"Whose got more to be thankful for than us?"

"What do you offer him?"

"Mice, usually. I bought a bird one time."

"Blood for the blood god," Tobi said with a nod.

"It's appropriate don't you think? I know some people offer flowers or bread, but you have to figure he prefers blood sacrifice, don't you?"

"I could understand why it seems appropriate, there isn't a rule about it yet. So I think anything would be fine."

"Well I definitely want to do whatever I can to be on his good side."

"Glad to hear it, because that's sort of the reason I called you here."

"Well I was sort of wondering about that. Is there a problem with the factory I'm building? It's weird ordering skeletons around, but they do get the job done."

"No, it's nothing to do with work, that's going fine. This is about a personal matter."

Franklin shifted in his seat. "What do you mean?"

Tobi spoke as quietly as he could. "You have to stop seeing that woman."

"Huh? I don't know what you mean."

"Spare me. You haven't been as careful as you think. People have noticed her coming and going from your apartment almost every night. She's what, nineteen?"

"It's none of your business," Frank's right hand twitched. "It's not like I'm going to marry her or get her pregnant, so it doesn't matter."

"It does matter. You were right here in this room when Lord Mortem told us we couldn't have families or even lovers."

"I'm not hurting anyone, and if you saw Rachel and how beautiful she is there's no way you'd stop either."

"Frank, none of that matters. Lord Mortem doesn't want us being with women. Period."

"So we should just jerk off or fuck each other?"

"It's worked so far."

"Fuck that!"

Tobi sent a worried look to the door. "Lower your voice."

"We did that shit because we didn't have a choice," Frank said in a hush. "No woman would look at us to even spit on us. Now I've got a sweet honey who just wants to fuck my brains out and you expect to give that up and stroke myself instead. Fuck that."

"Things are still way better than they were. We've got money now, power, freedom, and status. We're freer and better off than anyone else, you need to be satisfied with that. So we still can't have women or families, so what? We still didn't lose anything. You can't lose what you never had."

"You argued for it, right here in this room. You know how important this is."

"That's right, while you and everyone else kept their mouths shut I asked we be allowed to have families. Remember what the answer was? He told us a story about eunuchs and castration and then said no. Be grateful we got to keep our balls. Do you think killing a few mice in front of his idol will help if he finds out you've defied him?"

"Do you plan to tell him?"

"I was never a snitch. But I heard about it, how long do you think it will be before he does?"

"I'll be more careful from now on."

"He's a god," or at least you think he is, Tobi thought. "Do you really want to break his commands?"

"Being with her makes me happy, and there's no way I'll give her up."

"I see. Well, I tried to help you. I won't report you, but it's just a matter of time."

XXX

Within the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary Rubedo nodded her head. "True words."


	14. Be Glad No One Cares

Behind the building was a wooden shed. Parked beside the shed was a truck. Two legs stuck out from underneath it.

"Hey, Robert! Get your lazy ass out here!" The soldier escorting Darryl shouted.

"Yes, sir." A voice replied immediately.

Robert scrambled out from underneath the truck. He wore a simple cotton shirt and overalls. His face, arms, and clothes were all smeared with dirt and grease. The man's hair was mostly gray with some black peppered in. The deep wrinkles and spots on his face spoke of a long and hard life. On his cheek was the triangular brand that marked him as a Tech. There was a look of obvious surprise when he spotted Darryl.

"You got a new playmate, show him what to do and keep him out of trouble or it's a beating."

"Yes, sir."

The soldier was already heading back to the barracks without bothering to acknowledge him. Darryl stood there and gave an uncertain wave.

"Hey, I'm Darryl."

"Robert." The older Tech walked up to him and offered his hand. Darryl was happy to accept it and shake. "So what did you do to get sent here?"

"Huh?"

"The camps never get more than one Tech, and this place is the ass end of nowhere. You must have done something to get shipped up here. Did you fuck up a mecha? Stare a little too long at somebody's girl? Get caught talking about someone you shouldn't have?"

"Oh, nothing like that. I was wandering and saw this place. I figured I'd come in and work for food."

"Wait. You saying you didn't get sent here by the D.O.T.?"

"What's the D.O.T.?"

"Department of Technology, they assign and train all the Techs. If you've never heard of them you really must be an outsider." Robert shook his head in wonder. "So you were actually free and you walked in here totally on your own? You're a real idiot, huh?"

Darryl grinned and nodded. He could understand why the other man would feel that way. Every Tech dreamed of being free. "Freedom's not so great when you're hungry."

"Hmmm, I guess that's true. Though I'd have to get awfully hungry to see this place as a good option. Well, at least so far as that goes this place isn't too bad. They feed us the same as the soldiers, and we can eat as much as we want. Hope you like potatoes."

"Sounds good to me."

"I guess you'll be bunking in the shed with me. I'll get some straw and blankets for you later."

Darryl shrugged. "I've had worse."

"Yeah, haven't we all?"

Even though the two of them had never met all Techs shared certain experiences, and could understand each other in some ways. No matter where you went all Techs were a separate class. Always hated and despised by everyone else.

"So what's the story here?" Darryl asked. "I mean it's obviously some kind of prison."

"They call it a reeducation camp, but yeah, it's a prison. The W.A. ships people here to work the mine. Some of the prisoners even get to leave eventually, if they don't starve, or freeze, or die of sickness, or just drop dead from overwork. Compared to them we actually get treated pretty good. We just get beat from time to time."

"Fuck. What'd they do?"

"Eh, a few of them are criminals, thieves, muggers, that kind of thing. Most are undesirables."

Darryl gave him a blank stare. "Undesirables? And what's W.A.?"

Robert rolled his eyes. "You really are a virgin, huh? Okay, help me work on this truck's axle and I'll fill you in. People get upset if they see a Tech just standing around doing nothing. You have worked on a truck before, right?"

"Trucks, planes, Fox class mecha, I've worked on all of them."

"Okay then."

Underneath the truck they worked and talked.

"First off, the W.A. stands for the Western Alliance. That's the country that owns this place."

"What? The Western Alliance was destroyed in the Last War. Are you telling me some part of them survived?"

Robert snorted a laugh. "Fuck no. The assholes in charge just call themselves that, it makes their dicks hard. The flag out in front? It's the same as what the real W.A. used, they like to pretend they're the alliance brought back to life. Really though, it's just the city of Hannover and all the places they've conquered."

"Oh, I've heard of Hannover! They're the most powerful state in this whole region. Back in Turnersport there was a law, no one was allowed within two hundred miles of their territory. Not even to try and trade."

"Whoever was in charge was smart then. You want to try and stay as far away as you can. They'll trade with you, oh yeah, just long enough to know how many people you've got and where they are. Then the day comes where they tell you that you belong to them and you have to surrender. If you're stupid enough to try and say no, in go the hummingbirds and the eagles and the wolves and the bears. And you'll still belong to them, just a lot of your people will be dead."

"Huh, I'm glad we stayed away then."

"Yeah, but they'll come for you eventually. Hand me a wrench."

Darryl did so. "So who are the undesirables?"

"Whoever the Leader says. Some of them were guilty of disloyalty to the state, some were prisoners of war, and some were just unlucky. All the camps are around mines, and they need a set number of people to work them. However many people they need they'll find. Undesirables don't get paid any more than we do, and if some die no one cares. They'll just ship more up here. In a way it's kind of nice, seeing people who get it even worse than a Tech. I may get beat, but if I die who fixes the trucks or the presses?"

"Yeah, it's good to be useful." Darryl said with scorn.

"It is. Anybody can swing a pickaxe. Only a Tech can keep all their equipment running. They need us and they know it. Probably why they hate us so much."

"They stole me when I was a baby. Forced me to learn numbers, reading and writing, and how to make and fix. And then they made me work like a dog every day. If they didn't need Techs I'd have grown up with my family, had a woman, and maybe had a good life." 

"And maybe it'd rain milk and candy, too. It's life, what are you going to do?"

If you were a Tech you knew all about accepting things and understood life was anything but fair. Even with Lord Mortem's sudden arrival that was still true. Darryl had been ordered to join the expedition with Cocytus.

"We'll go inside the camp from time to time, to work on the forge or the presses. Whenever we do a couple guards will come with us. Don't talk to any of them, and don't feel sorry for them. You can't do anything to help and you'll just earn a beating if they catch you. The women will do just about anything to try and get your help, and it's easy to feel bad for the kids in there."

"There are children?!"

"Yeah, about a dozen or so."

"Why?" Darryl asked. "What could kids do to deserve this?"

"The Leader believes in shared responsibility. If you're an enemy of the state your whole family gets sent here too."

"They can't do that! You can't send children to a place like this because of something their father or mother did."

"The Leader," Robert grunted as he loosened a bolt. "Can do anything he wants."

Darryl thought about Bloody Billy and about Greg Horrace who came before him. He also thought about Lord Mortem. "Yeah, I guess that's so. But it shouldn't be that way."

"Listen, Darryl, you can say that to me, and I won't tell you you're wrong. But don't ever say anything like that around anyone else. 'The state is never wrong.' Even when it is. Just saying something like that can get a regular person marked as an undesirable. They won't put you in the camp, but you'll get punched and kicked. Be glad no one cares what Techs think."

"Yeah, lucky me."

XXX

She aimed down the sight and gently squeezed the trigger. A beam of white light fired silently out of the secondary muzzle. There was no recoil against her shoulder. The beam hit the target down range dead center.

"Uwaah," Shizu said in a monotone.

"Amazing! You got the bullseye again. If you were a soldier you'd qualify as a marksman. Where did you learn to shoot?"

"It is a gift given to me by my creator." She brought the rifle down. Unlike her own weapon this one had a green bar showing its charge. Before firing it had been completely green, now a small section at the top was dark. "So I could fire the laser five more times?"

"That's right, after that you would need to plug it back in to recharge. It takes about four hours to fully recharge."

Shizu nodded. "This is a truly amazing weapon. The SR-4 Pulse Rifle, a dual use infantry weapon capable of fully automatic or semi-automatic fire of 6.46 millimeter rounds from a thirty round magazine or six concentrated laser discharges which can penetrate up to one inch of tempered steel." She looked at the weapon for a moment. "I may have just orgasmed."

"Uh… well, I admit I was kind of hoping to hear that, but not quite like this."

Captain Jeremy Conners was a member of the Second Wolf Mecha Regiment. Shizu had met him at the Defense Minister's party. He'd liked the leather eye patch that covered her left eye and the camouflage fabrics that were a part of her maid uniform. He had visited the maid café regularly and tried to get her to go out with him. Shizu had only finally agreed to a date when he promised to get her a pass to an army firing range. He had found the idea of such a pretty girl wanting to fire a weapon to be amusing. The captain had most definitely not expected her to handle the pulse rifle with such ease, or to be such a lethal shot. It was another reminder that she was a foreigner and that he didn't know much about her.

Captain Conners looked up and down the firing line. There were only four others present. He'd been careful to come here on a day when no units were scheduled for training. The other soldiers present were all part of the Light Infantry and getting some practice in on their free time. The men were all conscripts who weren't going to say anything to an officer. But it made Conners a little nervous all the same. He'd gotten a pass for Shizu so that she could enter the base, but according to regulations only active duty personnel were allowed onto the firing range. And letting a civilian actually use a weapon was very much against the rules. Being an officer and a mecha pilot he was given a certain amount of leeway, but it was never smart to be too brazen. The nail that stuck out had to be hammered down.

"So how about we get some lunch?"

Shizu ran a hand along the entire rifle. "Is there any way I could have one of these? I can pay whatever price it costs."

He gave a startled laugh. "You really have some strange ideas, don't you? Only soldiers can have firearms, they're forbidden for civilians."

She gave the weapon a look of pure longing. "What if I enlist?"

That made him smile. "You are too cute. A woman in the army! Women aren't made for fighting, they're for gentler things."

She gave him a look with her one good eye that could best be described as piercing. "That is an incorrect statement. Are you saying there are no women in the military?"

"Well… there are nurses with the medical services and comfort women. But no soldiers."

"I am familiar with the occupation of nurse, could you define what comfort women are?"

Jeremy could feel his cheeks blushing. "Ah, well, they help soldiers who are stationed a long way from home with their, ah… needs."

"What needs?"

"The, ah, needs every man has that only a woman can help him with."

Shizu stared at him for a moment. "Are you referring to sexual activities? Prostitution?"

"Well… yeah."

"So the only uses the military has for women are as nurses or prostitutes."

"We prefer to call them comfort women," he mumbled. She spoke in the exact same tone she used all the time and did not look even slightly embarrassed. "So how about we get going?" He held his hand out.

A slight expression of regret crossed her features. She was definitely not one for showing excitement or strong feelings, but he found that adorable. Shizu cleared the chamber, ejected the magazine and handed the pulse rifle back to him. They headed to the rear to the arms master.

"Will I get to ride in your mecha after lunch?"

Captain Conners stumbled and burst out laughing, he actually bent over he laughed so hard. Shizu halted and observed this in silence.

"Why are you laughing?"

Conners looked over at her and the laughter began to leave him. "Oh shit, you're serious aren't you?"

"Of course. You stated I could see your mecha."

"Sure, we can go by the mecha park and you can see it. But there's no way I could let you _pilot_ it. That's just crazy."

"Because I am female?"

"Because you're not a pilot."

"If you instruct me I am certain I will prove competent in operating the vehicle."

"I'm sorry, but there is just no way. It's impossible."

Shizu considered him for a moment and he was worried she would demand he return her to the café. Then, without warning, she stepped up to him, grabbed him by the back of his head, and forced his mouth down onto hers. He was shocked by the sudden feel of her soft warm lips and the sensation of her tongue as it slipped into his mouth. She tasted sweet as strawberries and he felt more excitement than he had since being on the battlefield.

Then, as sudden as it had happened, it ended.

"Did you like that?" She asked him.

He had momentarily lost his voice and could only nod his head.

She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "If you let me pilot your mecha I will let you do _anything_ you wish to my body."

He gulped and managed to speak with a squeak. "I'll see what I can do."

XXX

Late that night, Darryl sneaked out of the shed where he had been sleeping. He crouched down in the darkness and took out the pocket mirror he'd been given.

"I have a report," he whispered.

The mirror's surface glittered, and a skinless face appeared. "What can you tell us Darryl?"


End file.
